The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) has announced the date of a hearing to be held by the Italian Anti-doping Prosecutor’s Office for Gottlieb Taschler and his son, Daniel. Gottlieb Taschler is alleged to have attempted to organise a course of eryerythropoietin (EPO) for Daniel through a 2010 meeting with doctor Michele Ferrari, as reported by the Sports Integrity Initiative in January.

Gottlieb Taschler is a former World Champion biathlete and now Vice-President of the International Biathlon Union (IBU). His son, Daniel, is an Italian biathlete who competed in 2014 Biathlon World Cup events. The hearing has been set for Friday 4 September 2015 at 10:00 am, following the ‘outcome of the investigations carried out by public prosecutors in Padua and Bolzano.’

Michele Ferrari, Lance Armstrong’s former physician, has also been called to the hearing alongside his son, Stefano. Michele Ferrari is alleged to have provided illegal drug assistance to Daniel Taschler. According to the Associated Press, Stefano Ferrari allegedly managed the financial aspects of his father’s doping business. 

The allegations were made in Italian newspaper Gazetta Dello Sport, which published a transcript of a 20 July 2010 wiretap. On 17 December 2014, the IBU announced that it would be investigating the allegations. It is understood that the wiretap report was produced by the Padua Attorney General, as part of an investigation headed by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) involving prosecutors in Padua and Bolzano. Doping is a criminal offence in Italy.

Both the Taschlers and the Ferraris denied the allegations. On 13 December 2014, Gottlieb Taschler issued a statement in which he said, “I have been shocked by the recent media reports alleging that I have been involved in doping and, even worse, that I have helped to organise performance-enhancing substances for my son, Daniel.

“This is simply not true…In order to protect the sport of biathlon and the good governance of the IBU, I will temporarily suspend all my current roles within the IBU.”

The US Anti-Doping Agency issued Michele Ferrari with a lifetime ban on 10 July 2012, a ban which the doctor has since contested. Despite his ban, a cycling training programme which he founded – available through a website run by his son, Stefano – is still in operation. In December, Padua prosecutors filed a 350-page report detailing allegations of Ferrari’s continued influence on professional cyclists. Prosecutors said that of the 35 professional cyclists involved in the investigation, most were still competing.

In December, Gazetto Dello Sport reported that Ferrari had been photographed meeting with members of the Astana team outside of the team’s training camp hotel in November 2013. Ferrari has denied the allegations. On 10 December, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) decided to grant the Astana Pro Team a 2015 WorldTour licence, despite two of its riders having failed doping tests, as well as allegations against three other riders. For more about these allegations, click here.