According to the Times, due to repeated delays in the court hearing (open in new tab) to determine whether Richard Freeman, former doctor for British Cycling and Team Sky (open in new tab), is fit to practise medicine, the UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) appears to be under pressure to consider an anti-doping rule violation claim against the doctor by May 2021, when the 10-year statute of limitations expires. (opens in new tab)

Freeman has admitted to 18 of the 22 charges (opens in new tab) brought by the General Medical Council (GMC), including ordering test gel, a substance banned in and out of competition, in 2011. This admission alone could be a violation of UCI rules that apply to both athletes and support personnel and prohibit the possession of prohibited drugs.

As a physician, WADA has given leeway to possession of prohibited drugs for family members of non-athletes who had a physician's prescription or were carrying it for an emergency situation - an exception unlikely to apply to possession of testosterone.

It has not yet been established exactly for whom the test gel was intended.

Freeman claimed that Shane Sutton, a former trainer for British Cycling and Team Sky, requested the drugs to treat a medical condition, which Sutton vehemently denied.

Freeman could face additional charges of tampering by admitting that he lied to UKAD that the order was sent by mistake from supplier Fit4Sport and returned when it was not.

GMC claims that Freeman "knew or believed" that he ordered the testosterone gel to be used for performance-enhancing purposes for athletes, not for staff, as he claimed. Freeman denies the four charges related to this allegation.

The hearing has been delayed several times due to Freeman's fragile mental state, and the original hearing was scheduled for February 2019. The hearing only began last October, and after a heated exchange between Freeman's attorney and Sutton, Freeman skipped the hearing due to a mental crisis.

Court resumed in April, with a final hearing scheduled for October. According to the Times, UKAD will likely not file anti-doping charges until Freeman testifies in court.