French TV show’s puppet doping jibes anger ambassador

Spain has reacted with considerable anger to a series of sketches aired on a French satirical TV show insinuating that doping is rife in Spanish sport. Among the spots broadcast by Canal+ program Les Guignols de l’info following Monday’s ruling against Alberto Contador is one featuring Rafael Nadal. A puppet of the tennis star is seen filling his car with his own urine, then hurtling off at improbable speed. Also in the firing line are Contador, Pau Gasol and Iker Casillas.

The Spanish ambassador in Paris, Carlos Bastarreche, has written a letter of protest to Canal+ for what he described as “a lack of ethics.” Nadal stated that the jibes were nothing new and without basis. Last year, French former tennis player Yannick Noah made a comment in Le Monde about Spain “falling into the magic potion,” an allusion to the Asterix comic books.

“With fewer resources we’ve achieved more than them,” said Nadal, summing up the consensus in Spain that France is suffering from a case of sour grapes brought about by its lengthy spell sans victoires.