Well in the space of days, two top-flght players have tested postive for cocaine. Adrain Mutu of Chelsea and Alexandros Kaklamanos of Liege in Belgium. While Kaklamanos has been sacked by the club, you would suggest a similar fate for Mutu. Now everyone will be thinking, how long will they get banned for. But should they be banned? Let me put this way: Cocaine is a recreational drug, purely to get high and nothing else. It doesn't enchance a players perfomance or make him into a better athlete - if anything the exact opposite. In the real world, the clubs are right to sack these players. If you were found smoking dope, then I'm sure your bosses would be asking you to clear your desk. However there isn't a ban or order out on you, that stops you from going somewhere else and aplying for another job. Obvouisly, with your record still in tow. Is 2 years fair? If i took performance enhancing drugs - then this is cheating. I am conning the game. Whereas if I take heroin or cocaine - I am classed the same. The two are very different. Should the FA have a right to step in. This is surely a more social problem for the courts to decide. I'm sure a judge would offer a rehabilition programme or awareness scheme rather than stop your livelihood for 2 years. The FA should IMO, allow the club and courts to deal with this themselves. I will admit, they are the governing body - but how many times do we see footballers with drink/driving fines and GBH charges against them. In those cases, the FA keeps their mouth shut and allows the club to take action. Why isn't it the same here? Paul Merson openly confessed that he was a cocaine addict - and he was helped to overcome his problems. He wasn't sacked by the club or banned by UEFA. I understand Mutu or Kaklamanos could not have problem, it could have been a daft mistake, but surely we can't treat a person who takes steriods in order to cheat rather than someone who has taken a snort of cocaine in the heat of the moment. We all do daft things and wish we hadn't done that - but do the higher powers have a right to stop these players playing without even hearing their side of the story. A person who comes clean and offers to change his actions is much better than a arrogant prick who gets a battery and assault fine and/or community service. What are your views on this, should we take a firm and decisive action or should we assist players over their social miscreancies?
They took illegal drugs. Full stop. Throw the book at them. There should be no distinction. What you also fail to mention is the fact that these highly paid players are all role models. For that alone, they must be punished. Also, if they do have a drug problem (like Bosnich) then they are unable to perform for their team anyway. Two years, a hefty fine, docked wages, rehabilitation and some kind of community service should be the punishment.
Jonathan Bachini of Italy's Brescia was just accused of taking cocaine. He admitted to it. A suspension hasn't been handed out yet.
That's because the Italian's all like their drugs. He'll probably be handed another pitiful 3 or 4 month ban. Italy is far too weak to do anything sensible about it.
SO Mutu faces a lengthy ban for, as far as we know, sitting around a hotel snortin' coke. At the same time, Fabrice Fernandes tears around London drunk off his rocker, runs a bunch of red lights, runs form the cops, and puts who knows how many innocent lives at risk and he gets..... ..... a slap on the wrist. nice, gotta love how some drugs are solcially acceptable and others aren't. The problem isn't drug use, it's how and when it's used.
FIFA: World Police sounds like a really bad idea. Cocaine has nothing to do with soccer, FIFA should keep their nose out of it. Of course FAs could be good citizens and inform the proper authorities, or get the help those players in trouble need.
Sure they have the right. They have the right to punish them for not having enough vowels in their name too. Whether they should or not is another issue. Cocaine should be a less serious infraction than steroids, to FIFA because, as far as it relates to FIFA, it is a less serious infraction. Mutu doing coke has little to no effect on the outcome of matches, steroids would. That the drugs are illegal is irrelevant to whether Mutu should be banned, only whether he should be arrested. Pot's illegal in the UK too, but no such bans occur for pot. Now Chelsea is another story since it's their potential revenues at risk. If Chelsea perceived letting Mutu off without punishment would hurt them with the fans, than Chelsea should be within it's rights to suspend and should suspend him for an amount of time they deem appropriate. FIFA's job is to ensure the integrirty of matches. This has nothing to do with that so they should butt out. Notice however that FIFA gets around this by classifying cocaine as a "stimulant." IOW, FIFA classifies xoxaine as a performance enhancing substance. The absurdity of which should be obvious when we start discussing whether caffine or protein should be banned too.
This article explains it very well I think, and I agree with what Paul Kelso has to say on the matter, so I won't go on and on but just refer you to it. http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,1331343,00.html KJ
Shut up you dumb Scottish f*u*c*k*head. Your country is no better. Everybody is p*i*s*s*e*d overthere on Scotch. Scotland is much weaker and not just in soccer standards.
Go to school. While Blatter was calling for Ferdinand's head on a plate, the Italian authorities were handing out 3 and 4 month bans for positive drug tests. Let's not forget that certain big teams were also found guilty of a secret campaign to drug their players. At least the English FA is trying to do something about the problem. Bosnich was handed a 9 month ban after testing positive for coke, I would expect Mutu to get the same. You would NEVER see this type of action in the corrupt Italian authorities... In other words, you can fuck right off.
First strike, suspend and prosecute per the law. Second strike, never again shall they appear in the game. Case closed. They are roll models short and simple. Punish them per existing laws, give them 1 chance to make up for it and show they stopped. If that fails they are out. Same for pot, same for drunk driving. There are laws in each country governing this, follow them first, then add on as is the responsibility that comes with being a roll model.
Cocaine can be performance enhancing in a game. But not by much, if anything. Quite possibly the opposite. Opiates such as heroin wouldn't be performance enhancing - unless they were helping to mask the symptoms of an injury... and in that case, that injured player would be at a disadvantage anyway. Getting in trouble for that stuff is reminiscent of these US mountain bikers that get suspended for two years for testing positive for pot. The drugs that they should really be punishing the use of are steroids, EPO, hemoglobin boosters... stuff like that. I worry that things like gene therapy will start ruining the game (as I figure it will ruin cycling)
If my boss knew I used drugs.... nothing would happen. And that's the only way it should be. No, you know what we should do? Shoot Oprah Winrey and hang Dr. Phil so housewives like you will finally stop spouting crap like this. Role model my ass... the majority of these so called role models have done drugs and many still do. It's their life. The role model talk is nice and all but makes no sense at all. Their club is their employer... not FIFA or UEFA.
Mutu is now claiming he didn't take cocaine and he doesn't have any drug problems but he took a sexual stimulant to "make him happy".
Wow..is all i can say!...Well said! It's hard to ascertain whether Mutu took cocaine on the spur of the moment, uses them recreationally, or takes it regularly. But that is irrelevant. Probably as irrelevant as all the discussion surrounding this very media-hyped topic. Anyhow, I don't think it's the responsibility of the FIFA, UEFA, the media or fans alike, to judge a person, player or not, who takes illicit drugs. However, I do think some course of action must take place as a deterrant. There should be some 'basic' disciplinary penalties, outlined by the Football Federation(i.e English Football Federation), and administered via the player's employer(i.e Chelsea FC), in regards to matters of illegal/illicit drug use. Let's face it...if the job is so valuable to you...you'll avoid taking illegal drugs like the beubonic plague. I also think there is a drastic difference between illicit drugs and performance-enhancing drugs. Had it been performance-enhancing drugs, more eye-brows would of been raised, and so should be by the likes of FIFA and UEFA, who should maintain their governance on administering fines, suspensions, and the like on players who do violate the ban on PE Drugs. As for Mutu, I don't know the man, but hopefully he rebounds from this, and lands in a more enlightened atmosphere, where he can regain his former form.
As a Transylvanian vampire heathen satanist, Mutu is attempting to lead you all down a FALSE PATH OF WICKED LIES. Happiness is not a drug. True happiness is LOVE AND RESPECT of JESUSOFBRISBANE. For ladies this love can be manifested physically.
There's another thread somewhere on BS that has lots of info showing that coke could be a performance enhancing stimulant. I'll try to find it for you...