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| December 28, 2006 | Thursday | Zilhaj 06, 1427 |
Cricket doping issue full of flaws, claims Dr Zaheer: Life ban on boxers criticised
KARACHI, Dec 27: The entire doping procedures, carried out by the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) anti-doping committee and later by the appeals committee, were full of flaws, Pakistan's top sports medicine specialist Dr Danish Zaheer claimed on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference at a local hotel, Dr Zaheer, who was also a member of the appeals committee that had exonerated fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar, said the board’s two committees should have taken into account the errors in the procedure.
He said that as a member of the appeals committee he disagreed with the decision to clear the fast bowlers since the verdict was according to international doping regulations.
“There were major errors in the testing procedure. I have suggested to my fellow members of the appeals committee to look into them and declare the results of the dope tests null and void.
“I also suggested that the players should be educated on the doping issue before conducting their fresh tests,” he said.
Dr Zaheer, who is the president of the Sports Medicine Association of Pakistan (SMAP), termed the life ban on leading national boxers Mehrullah Lassi and Faisal Karim as harsh and said that it was against the international doping code.
“It is very unfortunate that ineffective litigation from Pakistan initially led to a six-month ban by the South Asian Games Organising Committee and later life ban by the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF).”
He said the offence of the two boxers was not major and they should not be penalised for that.
“The punishment handed out to the boxers is very harsh. Even the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regulations warrant a maximum penalty of two years after a second offence by an athlete using a specific substance like cannabis,” he said.
Mehrullah and Faisal, the gold medallists at the Colombo South Asian Games in August, had been banned by the PBF for life, a decision which Dr Zaheer believes the boxers have the right to challenge.
The sports specialist said that had the two boxers been represented by experienced officials, there was a strong chance they could have been cleared of the doping offence.
“The SMAP feels that the PBF or the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) should establish an inquiry committee to review the life ban,” he said.
The SMAP chief also advised the country's sports authorities to take the case to the WADA or the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) to help resurrect the international careers of the two elite boxers.
He also clarified his position that he did not work for the WADA or the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as had been alleged in some media reports.—PPI
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