The tribunal for Dr. Richard Freeman will resume on October 6 through November 26 under the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS). The hearing to evaluate the former British Cycling and Team Sky doctor's fitness as a physician was postponed in December for medical reasons.

Freeman faces 22 charges (open in new tab) brought by the General Medical Council (GMC), including ordering a shipment of test gel, a substance banned in and out of competition, delivered to British Cycling and Team Sky's headquarters in Manchester in 2011. The company has admitted to 18 of the charges.

The MPTS Tribunal hears and makes independent decisions in cases concerning doctors whose serious concerns have been raised and whose fitness to practise has been questioned by the GMC.

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

Freeman alleges that Shane Sutton, a former trainer for British Cycling and Team Sky, requested the drugs to treat a medical condition, a claim Sutton denies.

Delays have continued during the court hearing on Freeman, which was originally scheduled to begin in February 2019. Due to Freeman's mental health struggles, the hearing was postponed until last October.

The hearing, which took place between October and December of last year, involved a heated exchange between Freeman's attorney, Mary O'Rourke, and Sutton. Freeman was forced to skip the rest of the hearing, citing a psychological crisis.

Freeman also failed to have the four charges dropped, and the Tribunal found in December that there was "sufficient evidence to establish a case to plead."

The hearing was originally scheduled to continue until late December, but was postponed until 2020 for medical reasons.

The case dates back to 2016, when the UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) investigated British Cycling and Team Sky's medical practices. According to a report in The Times (opens in new tab), in February, UKAD was under pressure to consider an anti-doping rule violation claim against Freeman by May 2021, when the 10-year statute of limitations expires. However, the report suggested that UKAD would not issue an anti-doping complaint until Freeman testified in the upcoming MPTS tribunal.

The MPTS stated that hearings will be conducted virtually and through the Hearing Center beginning August 3, and that all hearings can be observed at the Hearing Center, in the general audience, or through a video link in the general audience.