Credit card scandal involving star athlete
Biathlon legend surprised by mild sentence
November 10, 2025 – 6:00 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
There is now a verdict in the cheating scandal involving biathlete Julia Simon. The fact that this is not harder leads to a lack of understanding for a sports great.
Biathlon legend Ole Einar Bjørndalen has commented on the credit card scandal involving top French athlete Julia Simon – and expressed his incomprehension about the consequences for the 29-year-old.
“It was surprising that the verdict was so lenient,” said the eight-time Olympic champion on the Norwegian television station TV 2. Bjørndalen had previously stated that he expected Simon to miss all of the World Cup races before Christmas. But because an independent disciplinary commission from the French ski association FFS only banned Simon for six months, five of which were on probation, she only missed the start in Östersund, Sweden (November 29th to December 7th). There was also a fine of 30,000 euros, half of which is also suspended.
The background to the ban is the credit card scandal surrounding the 2023 overall World Cup winner. At the end of October, Simon had already been sentenced to a fine of 15,000 euros and a three-month suspended prison sentence in the criminal court in Albertville. The reason: She is said to have purchased goods worth around 2,500 euros between December 2021 and September 2022 using stolen credit card information. The data also came from her own teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and a team physiotherapist.
According to the French newspaper Dauphiné Libéré, Simon told the court that there were “no financial motives” for her actions. “It was ridiculous and stupid because I didn’t need it,” said the multiple world champion.
For Bjørndalen, the case is difficult to understand from start to finish. “The whole matter was completely incomprehensible to me at first,” he explained. About the independent disciplinary commission’s punishment for Simon, the 51-year-old said: “Now she has been convicted of five cases, which is even more incomprehensible.”