The director general of the World Anti-Doping, New Zealander David Howman, has made the extraordinary claim that nearly 25 percent of international sport is controlled by organised crime.
David Howman, Director General, World Anti Doping Agency. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Howman made the comment this morning at the security in sport conference in London.
He says a quarter of all sport played globally is infiltrated by criminals, with the figure based on information from law enforcement authorities.
Howman says a 2013 Australian report detailing use of banned drugs in elite sports facilitated by organized crime highlighted the need for a global agency to fight bribery and match-fixing in sport as well as doping.
The New Zealander says the people who are distributing and making a lot of money out of steroids -- not necessarily at elite level but even in junior sport -- are the same bad guys who are match-fixing and involved with bribery.
The Australian Crime Commission's report identified the use of substances including peptides, hormones and illicit drugs across a number of sports in a nation that had a reputation for having a predominantly drug-free sporting culture.
"The WADA model is very successful, because you've got governments and sports partnering," Howman says.
"You need that same partnership to combat other aspects of integrity."
