10 Feb 2012

Nadal complains of campaign against Spanish athletes

12:59 pm on 10 February 2012

The world tennis number two Rafa Nadal has claimed there's a campaign in France to discredit Spanish athletes by implying their success is due to the use of illegal drugs.

Speaking a day after the Spanish tennis federation said it would sue French TV broadcaster Canal+ for unacceptable and damaging insinuations in a cartoon about Nadal, the Spanish player described the attacks as sad.

The television sketch showed a life-size likeness of Nadal filling up his car's pertrol tank from his own bladder before being pulled over by police for speeding.

Canal+ has broadcast several other cartoon sketches implying Spanish athletes use illegal drugs, including one about banned Tour de France winner Alberto Contador, who's been given a two-year ban for testing positive for a banned anabolic agent.

Contador, who was stripped of the title, denies any wrongdoing.