The doctor, Mark Bonar, was secretly filmed by The Sunday Times saying he has treated more than 150 athletes in the last six years with banned substances.

The London-based newspaper, which sent an athlete undercover to see Bonar, said the doctor claimed to have worked with a “few footballers” who are past or current players at Arsenal, Chelsea and Leicester.

But the publication acknowledged that it had “no independent evidence Bonar treated the players” and there was scant detail in the report.

Leicester, the surprise leader of the Premier League, insisted that it follows “robust and comprehensive anti-doping protocols to ensure its full compliance” with anti-doping rules.

The team added that it “is extremely disappointed that The Sunday Times has published unsubstantiated allegations referring to players from clubs including Leicester City when, on its own admission, it has insufficient evidence to support the claims.”

Chelsea denounced any links to doping as “false and entirely without foundation” while insisting the club has never used Bonar’s services and has “no knowledge or record of any of our players having been treated by him.”

Arsenal said its players participate in about 50 random drugs tests each season and none of them has failed.

“Arsenal Football Club is extremely disappointed by the publication of these false claims which are without foundation,” the north London club said.

The front-page report about Bonar led to the British government hastily ordering an investigation into why the country’s anti-doping agency dismissed allegations two years ago that he prescribed performance-enhancing drugs to an athlete.

The Sunday Times newspaper said documents implicating Bonar were handed to UK Anti-Doping in 2014 by an unnamed athlete who had been suspended for breaching doping rules.

UKAD confirmed Sunday that it opened an investigation into Bonar after interviewing an athlete in April and May 2014 but said the doctor fell outside its jurisdiction because he was not governed by a sport.

-AP