June 6, 2002	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 24,1423

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SEOUL, June 5: FIFA has defended its decision to keep observers from the independent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) out of its drug-testing procedures at the World Cup finals.

Jiri Dvorak, the tournament’s chief medical officer, said that the officers carrying out blood and urine tests at the finals were experienced doctors, adding that observers from WADA, set up to run drug-testing around the world, were not necessary.

“There is no reason for supervision from a non-medical person. It was not forseen to have independent observers,” Dvorak told a news conference Wednesday. “It would require a change in the regulations.”

But he added: “If there was a wish to have an observer, there would be no problem. Anybody can be in the room.”

WADA, set up after the notorious doping scandal at the 1998 Tour de France cycling race, is trying to unify drug-testing and penalties for positive tests across all sports — a huge headache since sports sometimes deal with the issues differently.

But football and WADA do not always agree on who should be doing the drug-testing. World soccer’s ruling body is working hard on harmonising testing procedures in its own member countries.

WADA issued a statement Tuesday, praising the role of independent observers at this year’s Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the 2002 Paralympic Winter Games and the 2001 Mediterranean Games.

It said WADA independent observers would also be present at this year’s Commonwealth Games in the English city of Manchester and at the men’s and women’s world basketball championships.

“The increasing public confidence in Olympic doping control is a testament to both the progress made by the IOC and the effectiveness of WADA’s IO (independent observer) programme,” WADA chief Dick Pound said.

“No one questions the doping control and results management conducted in Sydney (at the 2000 Summer Olympics) or Salt Lake City.”

The only positive drugs scandal at the World Cup was recorded at the 1994 finals in the US when Argentine Diego Maradona tested positive.

Dvorak stressed that the case proved that FIFA did not cover up cases, however high-profile they might be.

Soccer has been hit by an increasing number of drug scandals in recent years involving high-profile players such as Dutchmen Edgar Davids and Jaap Stam.

FIFA has been carrying out drug tests after games since the 1966 World Cup finals in England, but officials have run random tests in training for the first time in the run-up to the 2002 tournament.

Players are undergoing blood tests for the first time after games in addition to the urine tests as medical officials look for blood-boosting drugs such as EPO in addition to stimulants and steroids which could boost players’ performances.

But Dvorak said he did not think soccer had a problem with blood-boosting substances which increase stamina.

“There is no indication of evidence that EPO plays a role but we do not know,” he said.—Reuters