City fined £35,000 for anti-doping admin error

[MillionMilesAway]

I take your point and am hopeful that the offence is genuinely an admin problem but the FA feel that the two are obviously linked in some way ie whereabouts and the testing.
Does each players whereabouts have to be recorded on a daily basis or is it just on the pre-announced day of the drug testing ?

11(d) is solely about providing whereabouts. If this was about missing a drugs test, then it would be huge news, and justifiably a major splash. It certainly wouldn't be led with as an admin issue.

This explains it:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jan/12/manchester-city-doping-test-charges

So what exactly did City do wrong?
All clubs are required to let the FA know by 10am on Monday the days each player will be training that week, the start and finish times of training, and the home address of the player and any address at which they regularly reside overnight. This administrative task allows UK Anti-Doping officials to know when they can turn up to carry out random tests. On three separate occasions City had inaccurate information about the whereabouts of their squad when anti-doping officers came to visit.

So what happens when a club have the wrong whereabouts details of players when the testers turn up?
It depends. If there are four players or less involved, the club isn’t penalised. Over five players, however, and they get a strike against them. Each missing player would also get a strike against them because they should have provided an alternative testing slot and location. Under FA rules, three strikes in 12 months would lead that player facing a ban – just like in other sports.

 

[I'm no cynic but...]

The problem is the randomness of the whole process. During hours of training is fine, sometimes, but once a player leaves for home then that time becomes his. If he was to be told beforehand there would be a drug tester on his way to his home and would be there at a reasonably accurate time, then OK, but as I understand it players will not be informed beforehand for obvious reasons. So if a tester does turn up at a player's home in that player's free time, he may just be out doing his shopping or some other harmless pursuit. I know that drug testing is part of the price of professionalism, but all the club can say is where that player is expected to be outside his training schedule, his home being the obvious one. Anything else would require Orwell's Big Brother to monitor the player, and does anyone really want that in our society?

 

[SilverFox2]

11(d) is solely about providing whereabouts. If this was about missing a drugs test, then it would be huge news, and justifiably a major splash. It certainly wouldn't be led with as an admin issue.

This explains it:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jan/12/manchester-city-doping-test-charges

So what exactly did City do wrong?
All clubs are required to let the FA know by 10am on Monday the days each player will be training that week, the start and finish times of training, and the home address of the player and any address at which they regularly reside overnight. This administrative task allows UK Anti-Doping officials to know when they can turn up to carry out random tests. On three separate occasions City had inaccurate information about the whereabouts of their squad when anti-doping officers came to visit.

So what happens when a club have the wrong whereabouts details of players when the testers turn up?
It depends. If there are four players or less involved, the club isn’t penalised. Over five players, however, and they get a strike against them. Each missing player would also get a strike against them because they should have provided an alternative testing slot and location. Under FA rules, three strikes in 12 months would lead that player facing a ban – just like in other sports.

Many thanks for that, it helps enormously.

Just a point about para 1. Does testing take place solely during training time or can the testing be done outside working hours ?

 

[I'm no cynic but...]

Many thanks for that, it helps enormously.

Just a point about para 1. Does testing take place solely during training time or can the testing be done outside working hours ?

I would think it includes all hours. Some drugs are out of the system in a matter of hours, others in a matter of weeks. Whether these drugs are performance enhancing is another matter. But didn't we have one of our Olympians banned from competing in the 2016 games for missing three tests, one of these when she claimed she was in bed asleep and didn't hear the doorbell?

 

[MillionMilesAway]

My best guess is that it's primarily training, but with a time to cover anyone who for some reason isn't at training when expected. Typically this will be 10-11 ish at night, hence the Guardian excerpt mentioning place of residence. Either way, it's so they can find any player that they have on the list they have at some point on any day.

 

[Hamann Pineapple]

There is no bias from the FA

 

[SilverFox2]

I would think it includes all hours. Some drugs are out of the system in a matter of hours, others in a matter of weeks. Whether these drugs are performance enhancing is another matter. But didn't we have one of our Olympians banned from competing in the 2016 games for missing three tests, one of these when she claimed she was in bed asleep and didn't hear the doorbell?

That seems reasonable except that I don't believe the athletes coach or affiliated club received any punishment did they ?
This leads me to think that there may be a possibility that we could have preferred to take this admin hit rather than blame our players for whatever reason.

 

[PannickAtTheDisco]

of course the FA want the Rags broadcast.

So that reg says only if it's 5 players or more is the club penalised? so that's 5 players each time for these strikes, concerned now a couple may be at risk of a ban now if they're on 2 strikes, more than possible.

 

[SilverFox2]

My best guess is that it's primarily training, but with a time to cover anyone who for some reason isn't at training when expected. Typically this will be 10-11 ish at night, hence the Guardian excerpt mentioning place of residence. Either way, it's so they can find any player that they have on the list they have at some point on any day.

Thanks again, would the admin error mean an absence of any detail or incorrect ie non corrected whereabouts ?
For instance if the player is not contactable to update data would a simple ´´cannot contact him at home or by phone´´ be evidence they would accept or is it the club responsibility to treat him as a missing person and demonstrate our attempts to find the player ?

 

[r.soleofsalford]

Dont you think it strange that only City and Fleetwood are being charged for this and how do we know only City and Fleetwood have broken any admin regs.


it stinks of fish

logic tells me its bollocks