by LFC #1 » Mon Oct 18, 2004 5:33 am
pretty sure it's Mutu
Mutu 'Shocked' over Drugs Test Claims
"PA"
Adrian Mutu’s agent has described the Chelsea striker as “absolutely shocked” over claims he has failed a drugs test.
The Mail on Sunday yesterday reported that the Romanian had tested positive for a banned substance after a test conducted by UK Sport.
If the allegations are correct, Mutu could face a possible two-year ban if a second sample shows up similar traces.
Victor Becali, Mutu’s agent, said yesterday: “We did not receive anything official until now, but tomorrow morning, myself and my partner, Gica Popescu, will go to London.
“I have heard a lot of people in Romania saying that this is Chelsea’s revenge against Mutu but I do not agree because it is not in the interests of the club to make public such a story. They have their own interests in selling Mutu.
“I only heard that this is not a recent test. I think it was done in September. I spoke with Mutu on Saturday and he did not say anything to me about this story.
“But after I heard the story I called him and he was absolutely shocked,” quotes the Daily Star.
Stamford Bridge boss Jose Mourinho recently admitted he is unsure whether Mutu will play for Chelsea again.
The striker claimed he was in “open conflict” with the club over his fitness, and reportedly flew out to join up with the Romania squad for their World Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic last weekend against their wishes, eventually playing the full 90 minutes.
Mutu, a £15.8million signing by Claudio Ranieri in August last year from Parma, then returned to London to continue treatment for a combination of knee and thigh injuries
Mourinho revealed there had been an “internal” meeting upon Mutu’s return over a “personal situation”, which most probably resulted in the player being fined the obligatory two weeks’ wages for his outspoken comments.
The Football Association yesterday refused to comment on the reports of a positive drugs test.
The FA vowed to tighten their doping programme after Rio Ferdinand’s missed drugs test in 2003.
In July it was announced that the FA planned to increase the number of tests in the 2004-05 season by 20% after a review by Lord Coe.
ADRIAN MUTU WAKES UP TODAY TO THE possibility of a two-year ban, as investigations into allegations that he has failed a drugs test get under way. The Romania striker, who was absent for his club’s 1-0 defeat away to Manchester City on Saturday, is understood to have had an adverse finding for a banned substance and will now have a test carried out on his second or B sample before any disciplinary hearing takes place.
Chelsea, the FA, and UK Sport, the Government-funded body which oversees drugs testing in Great Britain, refused last night to comment on the alleged finding, which they are bound to do because the drugs and disciplinary processes have not been completed. However, senior sources have confirmed that Mutu is the player being investigated.
In July, Mutu denied rumours that he was on a list of sportsmen supplied with drugs after the nephew of the president of the Romanian FA was arrested for dealing banned substances. He said: “I have never taken drugs in my life. These are only dirty rumours against me.”
It was unclear last night whether the substance supposedly highlighted in the test was recreational, constituting a relatively minor offence, or a performance-enhancing drug, such as erythropoietin (EPO), the hormone which aids sportsmen to improve their stamina and has been widely used in sports such as long-distance cycling and running. Discovery of the latter should lead to a two-year suspension.
Fifa, football’s international governing body, has signed up to the code of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and has been anxious to demonstrate how stringent football has become in stamping out illicit doping. This follows a series of scandals in which several of the world’s most famous players tested positive for nandrolone, the well-known anabolic steroid. They included Jaap Stam, Frank de Boer, Fernando Couto and Edgar Davids, all of who received bans of only a few months rather than the two years which would have been mandatory in other sports.
The biggest related scandal in English football occurred when Rio Ferdinand, the Manchester United and England defender, failed to give a urine sample in an out-of-competition test at United’s Carrington training ground in September last year. The incident revealed a loophole in the drugs-testing programme in English football. Unlike other sports, a footballer was not accompanied by the sampling officer from the moment that he had been notified of the requirement to give a urine specimen. Last summer, the FA conducted a review of its procedure and stepped up the number of drugs tests to 1,600 per season, a substantial increase on the 1,324 carried out across all levels of the game last season
