Ineos staff member linked to doping worked at Manchester United

Telegraph

4 days ago

David Rozman, the Ineos Grenadiers head carer who was sent home from the recent Tour de France after becoming the subject of a doping investigation, spent a few weeks last season working with Manchester United, it has emerged.
Rozman, a Slovenian, is alleged to have sent text messages to a German doping doctor, Mark Schmidt, in June 2012, shortly before Sir Bradley Wiggins became the first British man to win the Tour de France.
Schmidt had worked for a team called Milram that, prior to its disbandment in 2010, had been rocked by doping scandals.
Rozman spent four weeks last year working as part of an exchange programme introduced after Ineos co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe took control of Manchester United.
The allegations regarding the Slovenian stem from a documentary by German TV outlet ARD, which was broadcast before the Tour de France and which drew on court transcripts and in-court reporting during the infamous Aderlass hearings.
Those hearings resulted in Schmidt being jailed in 2021 for orchestrating a doping ring revolving around cross-country skiers and multiple cyclists between 2012 and 2019.
Although Rozman was not named in the documentary, and was merely referred to as a longstanding member of Ineos Grenadiers, the Irish Independent subsequently named him, as well as publishing some of the messages referred to in court.
In one of them, Rozman allegedly asked Schmidt: 'Do you still have any of the stuff that Milram used during the races? If so, can you bring it for the boys?'
Ineos Grenadiers initially declined to comment after Rozman was named. Sir Dave Brailsford, who was in charge of what was then called Team Sky in 2012 and is now the head of Ineos Sport, was back at the race for the first time since leaving his role at Manchester United, where he was one of Ratcliffe's most senior lieutenants. But he refused to speak to journalists.
A team spokesperson later admitted that Rozman had been informally contacted by the International Testing Agency [ITA] in April and that the team had 'promptly' launched their own review by an external law firm. Rozman is yet to comment on these allegations.
Rozman's time with Manchester United is understood not to have coincided with these developments.
'David Rozman was informally contacted in April 2025 by a member of ITA staff, who asked him about alleged historical communications,' read an Ineos Grenadiers statement. 'David immediately notified the team of his meeting with the ITA and his recollection of the contents of the meeting. Although the ITA assured David at the time that he was not under investigation, Ineos promptly commissioned a thorough review by an external law firm.
'The team has acted responsibly and with due process, taking the allegations seriously whilst acknowledging that David is a long-standing, dedicated member of the team. The team continues to assess the circumstances and any relevant developments, and has formally requested any relevant information from the ITA.'