Saiz' accusation admitted

On August 12, Manolo Saiz, the former manager of the Liberty Seguros team, himself accused in the Operacion Puerto affair, has submitted to the Madrid court dealing with the affair, an accusation against the director of the Superior Council of Sports, Rafael Blanco. This accusation has now been admitted to procedure by the judge responsible for the case.

Saiz stated that Blanco had acted in bad faith against his company, Active Bay, by transmitting to the Spanish cycling federation a document of the Guardia Civil which had not yet been validated by the judge investigating the affair. This document included annexes which judge Antonio Serrano had not authorized to be passed on.

Moreover, Saiz claimed that the Superior Council of Sports had received documents about the case only on July 7, but that it sent information about it to the Spanish cycling federation already on June 29. This information ultimately led to Liberty Seguros' exclusion of the Tour de France, and was "clearly intended," according to Saiz, "to cause damage and give a public lesson" to the Spaniard.