Asafa Powell's physiotherapist on Wednesday hit back at claims from the Jamaican sprinter that he was to blame for a positive dope test, maintaining that he did not provide him or compatriot Sherone Simpson with banned drugs.
Powell and Simpson were among five Jamaican athletes who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs at the country's national trials last month and are currently under investigation in Italy for doping.
The revelations -- and a separate positive test for US sprinter Tyson Gay -- have cast a shadow over athletics, just a month before from the sport's world championships in Moscow.
Powell and Simpson's agent, Paul Doyle, on Tuesday pointed the finger at the athletes' physio Chris Xuereb, suggesting that contaminated food supplements were to blame.
But Xuereb, who is also under investigation in Italy, maintained that he had done nothing wrong and the athletes were looking to make him a scapegoat.
Xuereb said in an emailed statement to a number of media organisations that he began working with the Jamaican pair in May 2013 as they recovered from injury, providing massage therapy and nutritional advice.
He said he worked "extremely hard" to help their recovery, adding: "Most importantly, I did not provide any banned or illegal substances to Asafa Powell or Sherone Simpson."
Xuereb accepted that he recommended vitamins to the runners but maintained that they were all bought over-the-counter at reputable nutritional stores and were major brands.
