FIFA and UEFA reject whereabouts rule

In a joint statement, the world and European football governing bodies oppose the individual whereabouts rule, and want to see it replaced by collective location rules.

 "FIFA and UEFA wish to point out the fundamental differences between an individual athlete, who trains on his own and a team sport's athlete, who is present at the stadium six days out of seven, and thus easy to locate," the official statement said.

The statement was issued following the UEFA Executive Committee meeting on 24 March in Copenhagen and the FIFA Executive Committee meeting on 19 March in Zurich.

The governing bodies want to exempt footballers from the individual responsibility and claim that the WADA guidelines are not suitable for team sport.

BBC Sport quote FIFA president Sepp Blatter responding: "We are a little bit surprised that through certain declarations (WADA) say there will be no exceptions made."
"It is not a question of not fighting doping but one should not really go for a witch-hunting because witch-hunting has never led to a positive result."

In response to the official statement by FIFA and UEFA, WADA was “surprised and concerned”.

WADA defended the new rule saying that it provides team sports with the opportunity of submitting the whereabouts of their relevant athletes on a collective basis as part of team activities.

“One of the key principles of efficient doping control is the surprise effect and the possibility to test an athlete without advance notice on a 365 day basis,” said WADA’s President John Fahey.

“Alleging, as FIFA and UEFA do, that testing should only take place at training grounds and not during holiday periods, ignores the reality of doping in sport. Experience has demonstrated that athletes who cheat seize every opportunity to do so and dope when they believe they won’t be tested. Some substances and methods disappear quickly from the body while keeping their performance-enhancing effects. Anti-doping organizations must therefore be able to test athletes at all times in an intelligent fashion.”

WADA's new whereabouts rules will be discussed on the up-coming Play the Game 2009 conference in Coventry 8-12 June 2009.

http://www.uefa.org/
https://www.wada-ama.org/en/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/7961907.stm
http://www.playthegame.org/news/