DRUGS IN SPORT: Moves to help lift any suspicion hanging over British sport following the announcement yesterday of Dwain Chambers's two-year ban are set to bring the nation's drug-testing agency into conflict with the English Football Association.
UK Sport said yesterday it wants to publish on its internet database the details of every competitor in each sport who takes and passes a random test, in addition to those who fail.
That would almost certainly be vetoed by Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, who has already threatened to withdraw the players' union from UK Sport's official programme because he believes it acted inappropriately over the Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand's missed test.
Ferdinand's appeal against his eight-month suspension is to be heard on March 18th or 19th.
New figures show football continues to be Britain's most tested sport. More than 900 tests have been carried out since last April but, because of the number of players eligible for the programme, a top footballer is still less likely to be tested than a leading athlete in track and field.
Putting such details on UK Sport's website would also draw attention to how few Premiership players are tested, leading to further criticism of the FA's anti-drug programme.
"We are not ready to name the sports we have been in discussion with because we haven't concluded anything," said John Scott, UK Sport's acting director of drug-free sport. "But the reaction has been very positive."
UK Sport did announce from August 13th every competitor in the 36 sports it administers who tests positive for banned drugs will be named on its website, to fall into line with the new World Anti-Doping Agency code. Currently, the names of those testing positive for banned drugs or who fail to comply with a test either leak out unofficially or never come to light.
Under the new system - agreed by all governing bodies - details of names, offences and punishments will be published by UK Sport within 20 days of the disciplinary process and any appeal being completed.
"Every case that has a positive result will have to be reported," said Scott. "We have a responsibility to publish the findings and the name of the athlete."
Meanwhile, French and Spanish sports ministers agreed yesterday on joint initiatives to fight doping, especially in the major cycling events.
France's Jean-Francois Lamour and Juan Antonio Gomez-Angulo of Spain agreed after a meeting in Paris to set up a joint "information and consultation group" to co-ordinate their actions in the fight against doping.
Lamour announced a series of anti-doping measures last month, which include forcing cycling teams to employ only fully trained and approved physiotherapists and doctors in races held in France. Spain agreed to apply the same rules. Last month, after a nine-month investigation, French drugs squad police raided the Cofidis headquarters and office of one of its doctors and seized medical records of several riders.
The ministers also agreed to increase the number of random tests in training in the build-up to the Athens Olympics and vowed to alert European police and justice authorities on the doping issue.
