French anti-doping agency 'aware' of Amdouni allegations

Berlin, Oct 3 (AFP) France's anti-doping agency said Thursday it was "fully aware" of "suspicions and allegations" of doping surrounding European 10,000m champion Morhad Amdouni. Alarm bells over the French athlete absent from the ongoing World Championships in Doha were sounded Thursday by German television channel ARD, which has been investigating the athlete.

ARD reported it had seen messages on the social media chat site WhatsApp from a doping products supplier demanding payment from Amdouni for banned blood booster EPO and growth hormone supplement. The German media outlet said on its website: "ARD's 'doping' editorial team has strong suspicions against France's Morhad Amdouni.

"During our investigations, one of the informants received a death threat" from Amdouni's entourage, the channel said. "We are fully aware of the information published by ARD and suspicions and allegations targeting Mr. Morhad Amdouni," the French anti-doping agency said.

The agency "will continue working in confidence... Judicial investigation time does not coincide with media exposure." The French Athletics Federation told AFP it was taking the doping allegations "very seriously" but said that it had heard of no specific violations. (AFP) ATK ATK