Tycoon Ion Țiriac does not trust TAS in Simona Halep case

Romanian tycoon, former tennis player Ion Tiriac do not trust the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS-CAS) in Simona Halep’s case. Halep is currently seeking to get the 4-year suspension reduced at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Lausanne court. The businessman also spoke about coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who does not assume responsibility in the doping case of the former WTA leader.

Țiriac questions the integrity of the CAS and described Simona Halep’s case as “a job that is not clean somewhere”.

“I don’t know what Simona is doing, now she goes to TAS. But does the world know what TAS is? In 2000, Andrea Răducan’s sample was manipulated, they sent 62 ml and returned 100 ml. What does TAS do? Break all the rules. So what world are we living in? Well, after a year someone comes and says that he dug and found something else, the biological passport. Well, you checked it 380 times in 10 years and you didn’t find… And then it’s a job that isn’t clean somewhere. Now Simona is going to TAS, with what hopes, I don’t know. I understand she went with some lawyers from Los Angeles. I don’t know them, but I wish them all the best from the bottom of my heart,” Ion Ţiriac opined.

Ion Țiriac also accused that Serena Williams had medication exemptions while she was trained by Patrick Mouratoglou.

“Mr. Mouratoglou, tennis coach… I don’t know what to say. I saw 2-3 times with his players some things that seemed to fall from the sky, but you had to be there, on the field, playing, to figure out what and how. He has a factory there (n.r. in France), he makes 50-60 young people every year. The rest, the athletes…

I understand that Serena Williams had drug waivers not once, not twice, 5 times, 7 times, 10 times while she was with you. I wonder again how she won all the trophies at Wimbledon. She had the moral to say: ‘Wait a minute, he beat me in 38 minutes, he gave me a slap like I haven’t received in my whole life, why don’t I ask for one more so it’s mine too’ … But as for the others, how was it? I don’t know, I can’t judge Mr. Mouratoglou, I don’t know if he assumes it or not, I didn’t ask him, I don’t even know the relationship that exists or existed between them.”

 “Simona Halep, doped? Are you out of your mind?” 

Tiriac said that Simona Halep’s doping is out of the question.

“We Romanians are a nation where you feel like crying sometimes. This girl won Wimbledon for this country. Well, if you win Wimbledon, you are the hero of the world. And now we’ve all forgotten that she won at Wimbledon? Why, because someone gave him apple or pear compote to drink? Look, now she finally managed to come and say where, when, how and who… Because at the beginning she said that no one should touch her team… well, look, it seems that from the team someone gave him something to drink. But Simona Halep, doped? Are you crazy? At 32 for the first round at the US Open, where he has always played poorly, how do you top yourself? So Simona Halep is who she is, she was world number 1 for so long, she won Wimbledon, she won at Roland Garros… So for me she remains a great, great personality, not just an athlete. She is one of the Romanian women who brought us something on the table, especially when we were hungry,” he said.