Former Swedish athletics team doctor Ulf Karlsson has reignited football's doping row by accusing Juventus of a 'culture' of doping, saying that he believes Zlatan Ibrahimovic doped while he was at the Serie A club.
Karlsson's accusations come after reports in the Sunday Times over the weekend that a doctor in London claimed to have doped over 150 athletes, including a number of Premier League players - claims which were swiftly denied by all of the clubs implicated.
Quoted by SportBladet, Karlsson said: “Ibrahimovic put on 10 kilograms in only six months during his time at Juventus. I think he doped, at least this is what I believe. Albin Ekdal also put on eight kilograms of weight during his period with the Bianconeri.
“I think this is a culture that exists at Juventus. They had a doctor who had previously been convicted for 22 months. We had a debate on all the negative aspects of sport and doping and we highlighted what happened at Juventus in the early 2000s."
After singling out Ibrahimovic for specific mention, he then said: "It’s a shame to perceive this as a personal accusation of Zlatan. My statement was aimed at creating a discussion on doping in team sports.”
Swedish Football Association press officer Niklas Bodell has responded to the claims, saying that Karlsson should be 'very careful' about making accusations unless he has evidence to back them up. He added: "To say something like that without being on your feet, it is for me very startling and surprising. I do not want to speculate or touch Karlsson's claim, but it sounds completely absurd in my ears."
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