by cheesecakery » Wed Oct 15, 2003 10:29 am
Manchester United's Gary Neville has attacked The Football Association for the way they handled the Rio Ferdinand affair.
Neville was part of the England squad which reacted angrily after Ferdinand was omitted from the party to face Turkey after his missed a random drugs test.
"Let's take the issues one by one. There is no doubt in my mind that Rio Ferdinand was prejudged by The Football Association.
"Yes, he missed a drugs test, but he deserved a hearing before people started passing sentence.
"Other players have missed drug tests and not been banned, but Rio was punished even before he had the chance to explain himself. How is that not a prejudgment?
"On the issue of confidentiality, the players felt extremely strongly. The FA denied leaking Rio's name, but did they really believe that it would remain a secret when the press knew that the squad announcement had been delayed by 48 hours because of something serious? Whether first-hand from the FA or not, the information was always going to seep out with a whisper here or a quiet word there and so it proved with front-page headlines. And what headlines they were. "The rise and fall of Rio Ferdinand" sticks in my mind, but there were dozens of them absolutely slaughtering him.
"Rio made a mistake, but you would have guessed from the outrage that he had been caught taking drugs. People were actually speculating that it could be the end of his career. Every other player in his position has been protected by anonymity.
"As friends and team-mates, is it any wonder that we felt that we had to come out and support him? Rio and his family were sitting at home going through hell and all for what was a moment of forgetfulness.
"The United players in the England squad knew we had to do something and we were pleased that, when we turned up at the team hotel, we were not the only ones who felt strongly.
"We stood up for what we believed. I have been lucky enough to play for 12 years for a club where, if you are in a tight spot, people will look after you as they would their own family. If that can happen at Manchester United, I would also like to believe it can be the same with England. The players believed Rio had been hung out to dry and we had to show we meant business.
"When we sat down with members of the FA, they admitted straight away there were flaws in the system.
"They accepted that a player should be man-marked by a tester as in other sports, to stop him leaving the training ground by accident. And Rio was not given any allowance for the fact that he had volunteered to come back that afternoon.
"Maybe the worst thing of all was that no one except the FA seemed to think it necessary to ban Rio. Not the players, the manager, Uefa or even the Turks, who came out and said that they would have had no objections to him playing. We were told that it was a "policy decision" by the FA. In other words, they were worried about image.
"Fine, let the FA be whiter than white, but if they are going to be consistent we need to look at the whole make-up of the organisation. It cannot be right that senior councillors with allegiances to Blackburn Rovers, Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa and other clubs are in a position to influence the fate of a Manchester United player. And that is not the moan of a United player.
"Forget the Rio incident. In no disciplinary matter should club representatives be advising an independent FA chief executive.
"I am not accusing anyone of prejudice, but we need to make sure that the accusation can never be levelled at the sport's governing body. Add all that up and throw in your loyalty to a team-mate who has been vilified and banned before he has been charged and I would hope you can understand why we took a stand. How often do footballers get accused of being overpaid, spoilt brats?
"Even if people still don't agree with our arguments, please believe that we were fighting for our principles. It is rare for people in privileged positions to put principles before image in this day and age.
"To say we brought disgrace on the England team staggers me. We showed what we thought about wearing the England jersey when we locked arms for the national anthem and played our hearts out on Saturday.
"In one of the most hostile football atmospheres in the world and against one of the best teams in Europe, we had to play under massive pressure because of the stand we took. We had the balls to see it through.
"It felt as if the team had come of age and the confidence we will take forward is massive. We have never had it better with England in my time with the national team. We have one of the world's best coaches, some incredible young talent, a great disciplinary record and a team spirit like you would not believe.
"We should have won two or three-nil and we kept our nerve despite the provocation. You have to give huge respect to Pierluigi Collina, who showed how to referee a volatile match. When there was trouble in the tunnel he stood there, watched and then dealt with it man to man with the captains. That is strong refereeing, not showering cards around.
"I am proud of how we played and proud to be part of an England team who care passionately about doing well for the country. Last week we did what we believed was right for a team-mate who had been badly let down. None of us condones drugs, none of us believes that drugs tests should be taken lightly, but we also believe that Rio deserved our loyalty when he was hung out to dry before a trial."
ARF ARF
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