The trainer of Jamaican sprinting star Asafa Powell has denied that he is to blame to for the Olympian's sprinter's positive drugs test and claims that he is being made a scapegoat.
Canadian Chris Xuereb has been accused of wrongdoing by Powell's agent Paul Doyle after the sprinter and three-times Olympic medallist Sherone Simpson both tested positive for the same banned stimulant oxilofrine, the Guardian reports.
Insisting that he is innocent, Xuereb, who only began working with the sprinters in May, said in an email statement that it is time that the athletes took responsibility for their doping instead of looking around for a scapegoat, adding that he is disappointed that that these athletes have chosen to blame him for their own violations.
Denying that he had provided any banned or illegal substances to Powell or Simpson, Xuereb further said that although he did recommend vitamins, they were all purchased over the counter at reputable nutritional stores and are major brands, adding that the athletes did not inform him that they were taking any other additional supplementation.
Xuereb also said that it is obvious that these athletes were taking additional supplements that were not discussed or known to him, adding that three other Jamaican athletes, who also tested positive at the same event where Powell and Simpson provided the samples, has no connection with him.
However, the report said that prosecutors in Italy had launched a criminal investigation against Powell, Simpson and Xuereb, who are at a training base in Ligano, as to whether the trio has violated the law on doping.