Players at Euro 2008 will face blood as well as urine tests for the first time at a European Championship, after Uefa announced stiffer anti-doping controls.
All 16 soccer associations taking part in the tournament signed an Anti-Doping Charter in Vienna agreeing to the tests, which will be conducted at team training camps as well as after matches.
"With this treaty we want to show that we are fighting doping and supporting the WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) cause," Uefa president Michael Platini said at a news conference.
The controls will enable detection of growth hormone, the blood-boosting drug EPO and foreign blood transfusion, Uefa said.
"We will test the teams unannounced prior to the tournament and then also during the event," Marc Vouillamoz, head of Uefa's anti-doping unit, explained. "At the pre-event testing, we will take blood and urine samples of 10 players per team. We will also take two players per side after the final whistle of each of the 31 matches and test them."
Samples taken during the tournament will be tested in Lausanne and the results will be available within 48 hours.
Platini added that he did not think doping was a significant problem in the game.
"I don't think there is organised doping in football," the Uefa president said. "The players travel, go from club to club, and there are always leaks. We would know it.
"A player may make a mistake once in a while. That could happen. But is it organised by clubs and doctors? I don't think so. Maybe in the past it happened, but I don't think so now."
