Will football be a doping exception?
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 06, 2009 00:00
PARIS - Imagine the outcry if, for a few weeks each year, police stopped catching those who want to cheat and rob.
Yet that, more or less, is what the bosses of football have in mind for the fight against doping. FIFA and UEFA, the powerful world and European governing bodies of the global game, say top players shouldn't be dope-tested during their summer vacations.
Their statement couldn't have been clearer: "FIFA and UEFA do not accept that controls be undertaken during the short holiday period of players, in order to respect their private life."
Arguably the world's most popular sport, football should be a leader here. But instead, FIFA and UEFA are punching a loophole in the idea that year-round, unannounced drug testing is the most effective means to catch and deter dopers.
If footballers are given testing outs, why not cyclists or sprinters, too? There may be some truth to arguments that footballers don't need to take banned drugs because theirs is a sport of skill and teamwork more than endurance or raw power. There's no pill to make a Pele.
FIFA and UEFA say football conducts 25,000-30,000 doping controls each year. The vast majority of tests come back negative. FIFA’s chief medical officer, Jiri Dvorak says there were just 9-12 cases per year of anabolic steroids or the endurance-booster EPO in the past five years in football, "which is almost negligible."
"I have no indication of systematic doping in football," he said in a phone interview. "You can call me naive, but I am used to that."
Their statement couldn't have been clearer: "FIFA and UEFA do not accept that controls be undertaken during the short holiday period of players, in order to respect their private life."
Arguably the world's most popular sport, football should be a leader here. But instead, FIFA and UEFA are punching a loophole in the idea that year-round, unannounced drug testing is the most effective means to catch and deter dopers.
If footballers are given testing outs, why not cyclists or sprinters, too? There may be some truth to arguments that footballers don't need to take banned drugs because theirs is a sport of skill and teamwork more than endurance or raw power. There's no pill to make a Pele.
FIFA and UEFA say football conducts 25,000-30,000 doping controls each year. The vast majority of tests come back negative. FIFA’s chief medical officer, Jiri Dvorak says there were just 9-12 cases per year of anabolic steroids or the endurance-booster EPO in the past five years in football, "which is almost negligible."
"I have no indication of systematic doping in football," he said in a phone interview. "You can call me naive, but I am used to that."