the rio saga

the whole point is not whether the 8-months ban imposed on rio ferdinand for 'forgetting' to take a routine drugs test is not whether the ban is harsh or not.

the whole point here is whether the english fa's policies on drug matters in line with interntional practice. and sepp blatter could do no better than to shut his big fat mouth on this matter. rio ferdinand, while being a pawn in all this, is no angel either. let me quantify.

first, consider the fact on how rio manages to continue playing for manchester united after he missed the drug test. what should have happened -- if this matter of equating failure to take a drug test with a positive drug test result -- is that it should have been released as a press statement by the english fa immediately and rio should have been banned from ALL competitions instead of just from playing for the english national team. a hearing should have been convened in the shortest time possible -- possibly within a fortnight.

but was all these done? no. the fa set a legal precedent by clearing some lock-kok manchester city player with some 2000 pounds fine for the exact same offence earlier this year. but now, they want to set the standard. and they are choosing rio ferdinand to be their scapegoat. to get their message across. i mean, give players and the community a warning first before you decide to do something different. it's good that the english fa is trying to internationalise their treatment of such matters. but really. this is shooting themselves in their foot and subjecting themselves to expensive lawsuits.

second, consider the slack attitude of the drug testers. if drug testing were given such importance, then surely rio's absence would have rung bells all round carrington and alex ferguson would get someone to call rio to abandon what he's doing to remind him to rush back to give a urine sample.

but no, not only did all relevant parites not do that. the sample collector did not even make any noise about rio ferdinand not turning up, and just conveniently left when the time to do so arrived. it reeks of the 'doing it for the sake of doing it' attitude that i do detest. haven't they consider the implications of their actions?

third, consider rio's reaction. i haven't a clue whether his late night partying on the eve of his hearing is true. but if it is, then he deserves no sympathy. he is no angel in all these. surely shifting house is something that pales in comparison that would put his career in jeopardy. i think a lack of effort is seen on his part as well as manchester united.

fourth, the question of timing. why only now that fifa decides to make a hooha out of this issue? for goodness sake, where's that sense of unity in the community. yes, the english fa makes a mistake, but hallo? is fifa perfect? i don't think blatter's ideas are any more sane than the english fa's.

what should have been done after the hearing?

with rio ferdinand. let him off with a severe reprimand and a huge fine. and get him to lend his fact to some anti drug abuse thing.

why? because the fa cannot establish beyond any reasonable doubt that rio ferdinand is the only party at fault here.

ah. how people are just so myopic. and not doing anything good for the game. just propagating their own agendas.