Comments on: Players no longer deserve the benefit of the doubt

By: mahony

mahony — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:31:59 +0000

I side with WADA – but only because football needs to be beyond repute as the peoples game – it can not have its colors lowered like so many other codes and sports because of illegal drug use.. I am not sure about how many elite football players have been caught using banned substances (if any) – but at the end of the day professionals of all types (not just sports) submit to unannounced testing in order to maintain the integrity/safety of their chosen profession. Having said all of that, I expect FIFA will win this battle as it’s political clout is likely greater than WADA’s if ‘push came to shove’.

By: Midfielder

Midfielder — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:31:19 +0000

One of the huge problems as some have already pointed out is professional sports that have players in training camps for months on end are a totally different kettle of fish to the Olympic sports where people can be scattered all over the place… Most professional sporting codes have in place internal and code driven policies… TBH if you just drop in on a training secession of a professional club unannounced then you capture everybody at the same time…Me thinks the Olympics are getting a little ahead of themselves … but interestingly the worlds major sports say … tennis, cricket, golf, basketball, Gridiron, baseball, rugby union, football are each within there own right a major code with control over their players so I side with Blatter.

By: geraus

geraus — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:14:52 +0000

I agree with Blatter, we must allow sportspeople, regardless of their wage or profile ,basic human rights. One of those is the freedom of movement. We also generally allow the presumption of innocence. Unfortunately many people like to dehumanise athletes whether it be from the sidelines or via the tabloid.
As an aside It seems drug testing and WADA have movved from preventing the self harm associated with Performance enhancing, to being a machine that drives its own industry, that is put power and money in the hands of the politicians and bureaucrats in WADA and the drug labs that make money from it.

By: Mick

Mick — Wed, 13 May 2009 07:25:45 +0000

The blokes go training once and twice every day of the week, surely the clubs could notify WADA

By: MVDave

MVDave — Wed, 13 May 2009 06:53:03 +0000

Give me a $million per year and l will let you know my whereabouts for 2 hours a day if it pleases!

By: David Wiseman

David Wiseman — Wed, 13 May 2009 06:27:19 +0000

You all make very good points.
WADA may not need to know where footballers are like they do cyclists or sprinters – that’s one issue.
But Sepp needs to appreciate that the public are more or less tarring everyone with the same brush. And if a player would have zero qualms about diving and milking a penalty, why would he have any issue with injecting himself with something which would make him feel better?

By: Dario Simpatico

Dario Simpatico — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:53:08 +0000

cocaine can boost your mental alertness. marijuana is a bit strange I agree but some studies suggest helps muscles relax post game etc.

If I have a cold and dump a couple of sudafed before a game, I generally play one of the better games of my season.

We all might think that the drug police are overzealous, but they have to be. MLB is a complete joke because of their soft stance on drugs. I don’t want to see a situation in sports that I love where Im spending more time picking out who I think is on the juice rather then enjoying the game.

Part of the problem lies in the overly negative campaign against steroids that distort alot of the facts about what steroids do. As such there is now an equally distorted pro steroid camp that is gaining momentum in some countries. The Drug police need to be more honest about why steroids and other substances are banned rather then creating boogeymen and fake symptoms to dissuade athletes.

By: whiskeymac

whiskeymac — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:00:16 +0000

Sepp needs to realise coffee is a stimulant before he smells it. Drugs in sport just won’t go away – sad but true. Billo, in football, and i am sure any of the “codes”, the beenfit of improved performance means they wont tire as much. Players can run mini marathons throughout a game – if they were artificially able to get over “tired legs” that would be a big bonus if they were faster and able to last longer. The downside of course being small willies and spots. or more seriously heart attacks (Flo Jo), psychological issues (i note the wrestler’s doctor got 10 years for supplying steroids).
in my naivety I never understood why marijuana and cocaine, apart from obvious illegality, were tested for though.

By: Michael C

Michael C — Tue, 12 May 2009 20:25:17 +0000

Whilst this wasn’t in place a few years ago – it’s indicative of the impost upon regular team sports that the IOC’s pet ferrett, the WADA code, has.

It’s quite one thing to attempt to design it (the WADA code) for the requirements of the IOC and the ‘Olympic sports’, but, the whole issue of cyclists and swimmers and the like ‘disappearing’ for months at a time in secret training camps etc…….that’s not an issue for soccer, or AFL.

FIFA was engaged in a years long arm wrestle with WADA – - and around that time so too was the AFL. Sadly, the court of John Howards public opinion voted against the AFL whilst ignorant of the facts.

Perhaps people are now going to understand that one size DOES not fit all. And in recognising that – we are not being ‘soft on drugs’.

By: Billo

Billo — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:11:24 +0000

I sympathise with Blatter on this one.
Surely we should recognise that performance enhancing drugs are appropriate for improving performance in some sports, but not others.
I don’t know whether I am naive or not, but I find it hard to see how soccer players could benefit from steroids or other illegal substances, in the way that sprinters, cyclists, weight lifters and rugby players, who rely on strength or endurance, clearly could.
WADA seems to assume that all sports are the same, whereas what is surely needed is an individual approach for every sport, taking into account its own characteristics.

By: Kurt

Kurt — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:18:44 +0000

I tend to side with Sepp on this one. This seems like a massive imposition upon athletes – I barely know where I’m going to be this time tomorrow, let alone every day for the rest of the year. And if every athlete is already assumed to be taking drugs, doesn’t it logically follow that we should just accept that they are and let them get on with it? In the court of public opinion they could have every single drop of urine instantly tested by a WADA agent who follows them into every toilet cubicle they enter and still probably be assumed to be on the juice, so let’s save ourselves a lot of time and money and just enjoy watching what a human body can do when injected with cutting edge pharmaceuticals.