The Polish Anti-Doping Agency (POLADA) announced that it had been targeted in a cyber-attack which falsely implicated a number of Poland’s star athletes in doping violations. High-profile athletes alleged to have failed drug tests in the fraudulent leaks included top-ranked tennis player Iga Swiatek and renowned footballer Robert Lewandowski, who plays as a striker for Barcelona. The alleged leaks were disseminated via several social media posts, which were promptly declared as fake by POLADA.
In response to a tweet (now deleted) outlining the false allegations, POLADA rebutted, “Info presented in this post about Polish athletes is a fake. All of these posts are aimed to discredit Polish athletes, who don’t deserve that cause (sic) they compete clean. None of these athletes was positive and none of the presented dates matches doping controls which were conducted.” The intent behind these forged posts was to tarnish the reputation of Polish athletes, all of whom were said to be competing fairly and had tested negative for doping control. Any alleged dates of doping control also failed to coincide with the known timelines.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), responsible for handling anti-doping measures in the world of tennis, confirmed POLADA’s claim. ITIA’s records, covering the period during which Swiatek was claimed to have tested positive in the supposed leaks, showed no adverse findings for the player. At that time, the International Tennis Federation was the governing body for anti-doping in tennis.
POLADA further highlighted the true intentions of such cybercrimes in another tweet. It warned the public against the disinformation campaign being carried out by the cybercriminals, intended to defame and discredit Poland’s athletes. It reiterated that the athletes mentioned had not had any positive doping tests, and that the dates of these fictitious tests did not correlate with actual anti-doping control schedules.
When contacted for comments, the management of Swiatek referred to POLADA’s reports confirming her innocence. POLADA is Poland’s official National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO), recognised and coordinated by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The latter oversees the implementation of anti-doping rules and policies across all sports, including both tennis and football.
Additionally, representatives for Lewandowski were also reached out for their comments regarding the false positive doping allegations against the footballer. These instances highlight the growing concern around cyber attacks targeting sporting institutions and athletes, causing disruption and spreading misinformation.
