Break-in adds another chapter to sordid tale, says Doyle
"The break-in has added another chapter in a rather sordid tale at this stage.
"We have three international criminal investigations going on: one based in Lausanne in Switzerland, another in Cambridgeshire in Britain and then Ireland," said the MEP.
"I also understand the police in Paris are going to be brought in on it, in terms of the reference laboratory in Paris they were the lab that consigned the missing B samples to Newmarket.
"As we know, that sample never arrived. So there are questions to be asked in four different countries.
"The gardaí are taking the break-in at our headquarters extremely seriously and have upgraded it to a full criminal investigation.
I never thought I would see the like of it.
"This is my fourth year as president of the EFI and I have been involved in equestrian sport since I was nine or 10 years of age, and this shows me that every sport has its moments.
"Look at swimming three or four years ago, look at athletics. This is one case, in the middle of due process and effectively under appeal.
"We have to allow Cian the opportunity to clear his name and the reputation of his horse Waterford Crystal. The sordidness of these latest chapters doesn't help, but all of us want to clarify the good name of Irish show jumping and Irish Equestrianism as quickly as possible.
"As for the FEI, the issue is with their lawyers at this stage and they have gone to ground and one can understand it part of the investigation is into their own internal process. There has to be a question mark as to for whom the urine samples would be of interest, and how could they select the urine sample of one particular horse when it was only identifiable by a barcode a code that could only be matched against a name in a book back in the Federation's headquarters in Lausanne? They are in the loop because of that.
"Hopefully, due process can run its course the view from some in Lausanne seems to be that the blood sample could be sufficient.
"Whether you can compare like with like is a matter for the legal people in Lausanne the lawyers will have a field day before this is all over. It's got very difficult and there's a man's career at stake in all of this.
"It's in his interest that we have a full and proper appeal process and that he has the opportunity to clear his name," she said.
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