Idman.biz
Former sports minister admits that the French national football team won the 1998 World Cup with the help of doping.
Sports.News reports that in that World Cup, France defeated Brazil 3-0 in the final.
According to Mari-George Baffet, in 1997, they exposed Eyme Jaken's team for taking doping - the whole team. This caused a scandal: the players, the coaching staff, and the French Football Federation, through the media, pressured the government, creating unnecessary precedents and interfering with the preparations for the World Cup. And they achieved their goal.
As a result, Baffet asked Dr. Alen Garnier, who was in charge of anti-doping control, not to interfere with the players' affairs.
«The order was clear: I should not disturb the French team until the World Cup»
He also noted that this instruction was verbal, so it was possible to «avoid bureaucracy in such a tense period for the host country» and avoid any reason. In fact, he said that the players could continue to use banned substances to improve their performance.
Interestingly, Baffet became a leading figure in the anti-doping movement shortly after the tournament. In 1999, he proposed the first anti-doping law in France. He explained this step as follows: «We resumed the fight after the World Cup».
