The symbiotic evolution of anti-doping and supply chains of doping substances: how criminal networks may benefit from anti-doping policy

Sport and Crime

“…The scholarly community has contributed extensively to documenting the culture of doping in sport, particularly in cycling (Hoberman, 2002;Christiansen, 2005;Schneider, 2006;Brissonneau et al, 2008;Paolo & Donati, 2014). However, Fincoeur, van de Ven, and Mulrooney (2014) argue that "Criminology as a discipline has yet to sufficiently explore the problem of doping, and in particular the The prohibition around, and punishment of, the use of performance-enhancing substances has traditionally been dealt with by sport regulatory bodies, whether via individual governing bodies or WADA, since its inception in 1999. But the prevalence of PED use has led to a growing consensus among policymakers and indeed scholars (e.g., Houlihan and Garcia, 2012;Howman, 2011;Paoli & Donati, 2013) that anti-doping policy focused solely on athletes and testing has failed (Smith & Stewart, 2008).…”

“…However, Fincoeur et al (2014) argue that rather than bringing "the war on doping" into the realm of law enforcement and social policy, it should remain in the "confines of sport" (p. 9). Drawing on empirical data from two research projects exploring the supply chains of doping substances within elite cycling in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, the scholars contend that punitive anti-doping policy-which has become focused on organized crime organizations controlling the PED markets and characterized by zero tolerance-is exacerbating the problem by pushing the supply chain (as well as the use of doping substances) underground (Antonopoulos, 2015).…”

“…They add that the unintended negative consequences of the "war on doping" are comparable to those of the "war on drugs." For example, the expansion of anti-doping policy has seen law-enforcement prioritized over health concerns, drug-users stigmatized, and doping markets shift to countries where the regulations are more lax (Koert and Van Kleij, 1998;Fincoeur et al, 2014).…”

“…But as Fincoeur et al (2014) suggest, moving doping into the realms of law and social policy may not be the most prudent course of action. Instead they advocate an anti-doping movement tailored to education, prevention, and minimization of harm.…”

An anatomy of Turkish football match-fixing

“…High profile incidents have uncovered the frequency and intensity of corruption, especially in professionalised competitive sports, such as football (Hill 2010(Hill , 2015Haberfeld and Sheehan 2013;Brooks et al 2013;Manoli et al 2017) and athletics (O'Leary 2013). In the latter, a number of widely documented scandals of athletes' doping have recently surfaced, triggering further investigations into the anti-doping test regime before and during major events, such as the Olympics, and even resulting in athletes being stripped off their medals and banned from participating in future competitions (Dijkstra et al 2016;Fincoeur et al 2014;Paoli and Donati 2014). Corruption in football has attracted equal, if not more, attention in recent years, with prominent scandals of bribery involving high level officials (e.g.…”