British Bobsleigh warned athletes they could lose their chance of competing at the Olympics if they dared to speak out publicly about issues such as bullying, sexism and racism, the Observer can reveal. An email seen by this newspaper also shows that athletes and staff were threatened with legal action weeks before the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi if they talked publicly about an affair between a male coach, who was on British Bobsleigh’s three-person selection panel, and a female athlete.

The legal threats – which were accompanied by aggressive warnings that athletes could be found guilty of “bringing the sport into disrepute” – were made after other women in the squad, who were frightened they would lose out on an Olympic spot because of favouritism, raised concerns.

In an email sent to athletes and staff on 20 December 2013, British Bobsleigh’s performance director, Gary Anderson, wrote: “Some of you will be aware … that there is information in the public domain that could be very damaging to us as a national governing body. If this information is used/misused it could seriously tarnish the hard earned reputation and compromise our funding status. Together with our Chairman Sir Andrew, I am currently seeking legal advice on an injunction (under the Privacy Law – prohibiting the publication of what is contended to be private or confidential information) to prevent the further use/misuse of this information.

“Athletes and staff will be advised that any breach of an athlete agreement or ruling in force at the time could be found guilty of ‘bringing the sport into disrepute’ and will be dealt with swiftly and appropriately.”

The British Bobsleigh and Bob Skeleton Association (BBSA) is understood to argue that the email was not intended as a threat to the funding of individual athletes, but a reminder of their responsibilities under the athlete agreement, and insist that at no point did Anderson threaten the athletes. It maintains the focus of the email was to “protect the athletes and the sport, as well as the individuals involved, in the weeks leading up to the Winter Olympics”.

Meanwhile several current and former British bobsleigh members have told the Observer they believe that the culture of fear in the sport is every bit as bad as in British Cycling, with athletes threatened with losing their chance of going to the Olympics, mocked about their weight, and worried about the consequences of challenging authority.

As one current squad member put it: “Bullying is normal in bobsleigh. It’s very, very normal. But no one will say anything. It reminds me of a battered wife or bruised child situation because people are terrified. We have some of the biggest guys in sport but everyone has too much on the line. No one will stand up and say: ‘This is out of order,’ because we are scared of being sent home, getting our funding cut and not making the Olympics.

“I’ll give you an example – we had a closed-door policy last year, which meant we could say what we wanted. Question No1 was – why, when you are always complaining about money, do we always go to Switzerland to train where our head coach, Dominik Scherrer, is from, when there are cheaper places? But Dominik and Gary absolutely ripped [the questioner] a new one. So people stopped asking questions.

“People are being worn down every day, threatened to be sent home every day. We are a high performance sport that is looking to win medals, nobody appreciates being degraded. But it has got to the stage where people won’t even ask a constructive question any more because they are scared of being shot down.”

A number of athletes have criticised the management style of Anderson and the head coach, Scherrer, which, it has been suggested, is “authoritarian” and creates a “bubble of fear”. As one put it: “Some of the coaches are in that bubble of fear too. You can see it. They have got no power to make decisions. They say: ‘I have to speak to the head coach or the performance director,’ even for simple things because they don’t want to get into trouble.”

In response the BBSA said it rejected all the claims and insisted it took any matters regarding athlete care “very seriously and have investigated concerns raised by athletes regarding the performance environment”.

It added: “No formal complaints have been made. However, regardless of this, we have taken steps to ensure all athletes and staff are clear on the process in which to address any concerns.

“The BBSA has never threatened any of its athletes and treats all of its athletes fairly and with respect. The BBSA reiterates that it condemns all forms of racism, sexism and any other discrimination in the strongest possible sense. We are proud of the diversity in our team and the success our athletes achieve.”

A number of current and past members of the team have also told the Observer that women are treated as “second-rate citizens”. As one put it: “Before an event, the men will get a detailed briefing, but women don’t. When we travel there will often be three women living in a box room for 10 days, but if they complain they will get shot down. When guys complain, sometimes things get done. How many times I have seen girls cry this season? I can’t count. It’s been so many.”

The BBSA claim these allegations are “not based on fact”. It added: “We take any matters regarding athlete care very seriously. We have investigated concerns raised by athletes regarding the performance environment and no formal complaints have been made.

“Our focus is always on supporting our athletes and the team and it will remain that way as we continue our buildup to the Winter Olympics, which is the pinnacle of their sporting careers.”

Athletes have also told the Observer that external reviews by bodies such as UK Sport, which are supposed to unearth problems, are easily circumvented. “At the last race of the season, Anderson told us every funded sport has to do a UK Sport end of season review – his words were: ‘Right guys, I want you to tell the truth but don’t go too wild, because yet again it will bring up a red flag by our name and everything will get frozen and it might affect your funding decision.’”

Team members have told the Observer that during a review in April conducted by John Donnelly, who has recently become UK Sport’s first head of sport integrity, Anderson contacted team members to ask questions about the review, knowing it was against procedure.

The BBSA accepts that Anderson is in regular contact with the athletes and did remind them to respond to the review. As part of the ongoing review of its processes, it says it “aims to create an environment where athletes can speak openly. We trust in Mr Anderson’s integrity.”

Last week the BBC revealed multiple complaints over a “toxic atmosphere” in the sport – and that a host of athletes have written anonymously to Richard Parker, the chief executive of the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association, to “share concerns over the behaviour of senior performance and management staff”.

The athletes told Parker their concerns were “of the highest order, mentioning bullying, racism, sexism and discrimination”. However, the following month they were told no disciplinary action would be taken following an internal review because no “formal complaints” were made.