Rio drug test

[RobB]

Ferdinand forgot to take a drug test.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/england/3169798.stm

[sch2383]

I know the NFL regards a missed drug test as a failure, I guess we are lucky the FA doesn't have the same policy.

[bigtoga]

Ugh... Rio has now been left out of the England squad due to missing the test.

[Motterman]

Originally posted by bigtoga
Ugh... Rio has now been left out of the England squad due to missing the test.

Gordon Taylor:

"I feel the FA have totally breached their own rules which say there is to be no disclosure of a player's identity until there has been a clear proof of guilt and a punishment has been imposed.

"I was given the impression on Sunday night that the FA had made their minds up about not to select him for the England squad, and I find that disgraceful.

"They will claim that England is a separate issue but there has never been an interim suspension before a hearing. They have virtually identified him - that's why his name is all over the papers.

I feel bad for Rio for missing the the England - Turkey match, but I'm frankly more concerned over any suspension period he must face and how that affects United.

[Father Ted]

That's just pretty stupid of him. He has no excuses.

[sch2383]

Originally posted by Motterman
Gordon Taylor:



I feel bad for Rio for missing the the England - Turkey match, but I'm frankly more concerned over any suspension period he must face and how that affects United.

Me too. If there is no suspension because of this, I bet SAF isn't too upset with Rio not playing.

[van_da_man]

apparently he forgot to go for the drug test...as he was moving house

[Ferris]

There should be someone in every major sports organization whose main job is to see to it that athletes don't mess up for stupid reasons. He should call every player the day before the drug test and be like "your ass better be at the clinic tomorrow". Better yet, he should just take the drug test for them. :D

[bigtoga]

Originally posted by Father Ted
That's just pretty stupid of him. He has no excuses. Agreed. He deserves a suspension, IMO. Otherwise it sets a precedent that anyone "forgetting" to take their test is A-OK.

[bigtoga]

BBC has an interesting picture display about what players go thru when taking a drug test. Its amusing to say the least:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/ - you have to choose that you are in the UK to see it. The link is right next to the the Rio story

[Motterman]

From soccernet:

New light was shed on England's chaotic preparations for their Euro 2004 crunch with Turkey after it was claimed that captain David Beckham and several players had threatened to walk out over the decision to drop Rio Ferdinand. The defender was axed from the squad for Saturday's match after failing to attend a drugs test - and his agent Pini Zahavi has said that Beckham was among 'six or seven players' who were considering refusing to travel to Istanbul.

Well done, Beckham.

[Ticles]

-----------------------------
United had fought desperately to stop the FA from excluding Ferdinand from the squad.

And speculation arose that United had threatened to withdraw all their players in protest.

When asked about that possibility at Tuesday's news conference, Eriksson said: "Let's hope not. That would be even worse."

------------------------------

ah, good ol sven, master of the obvious :)

[Lancashire Lad]

Originally posted by sch2383
I know the NFL regards a missed drug test as a failure, I guess we are lucky the FA doesn't have the same policy.

The FA does.

This affair does not reflect well on anybody. In the past the FA have kept such stories secret until after a hearing.

From an England point of view it’s probably the right decision for him to miss the game. Don’t want to give Turkey any legal options if we beat them.

He apparently realised later that day and phoned the testers but none were available, for a retest.

The FA needs to revise their procedures to make sure this will not happen again.

[Motterman]

Originally posted by Motterman
From soccernet:

Well done, Beckham.

Ahh... the pony-tailed Spaniard punked out after all:

"At no time - and David Beckham has asked me to make this clear - did any of the players at that meeting threaten to walk out of the squad"

The FA's Paul Barber

;)

[bkn0528]

Originally posted by Ferris Beuler
There should be someone in every major sports organization whose main job is to see to it that athletes don't mess up for stupid reasons. He should call every player the day before the drug test and be like "your ass better be at the clinic tomorrow". Better yet, he should just take the drug test for them. :D

wow, I would be really surprised if there isn't someone who's supposed to be on top of these sort of things. it sounds a bit weak to say you 'forgot', even if it's true.

[Motterman]

The thing that ticks me off is the fact that once Rio realized he had forgotten to report for the test he phoned and came back to the grounds to be test - only two hours after his scheduled test. United phoned up for the testers to come back but they did not return for two days. I would have limo'd Rio to the FA so he could piss on their front door that night!

[simonc]

A similar case involving a Manchester City player was kept secret and the punishment was 2000 pounds and no suspension.

Article in the Independent:
http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/manchester_city/story.jsp?story=450995

[Lancashire Lad]

Originally posted by Motterman
I would have limo'd Rio to the FA so he could piss on their front door that night!

That would have been very amusing!!!

[DennisM]

"Well done, Beckham"

Not so. Anyway, it doesn't matter if a City player didn't get a suspension or not. Rio's suspension is due to him missing a drug test and the punishment of that is that he won't be a representative of his country for a match.

[bkn0528]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/3172568.stm

what is going on? the BBC says the players are still considering a walkout, 3 days before the match.