May 31, 2008	Saturday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 25, 1429

SYDNEY, May 30: World soccer governing body FIFA officially ratified the World Anti-Doping Agency’s revised drug code Friday, putting aside past differences.

At its annual Congress in Sydney, FIFA members voted 175 to 1 _ a 99 percent approval rate - to adopt the code.“The commitment of FIFA has been strong and I believe will be even stronger in the days ahead,” said Sydney-based WADA president John Fahey, who signed the accord with FIFA president Sepp Blatter minutes after the vote was announced.

“Football is a giant in the universe of sport, and your example is of paramount importance. Your support will be noticed and followed by other sports around the world.”

In the past, FIFA has resisted WADA’s blanket two-year ban for first-time doping offenses, saying that the length of any suspension should take into account individual cases, and that team sports were different from individual events.

In February, following a meeting between Blatter and Fahey, FIFA said it would adopt the code and promised to use “all possible means” to fight performance-enhancing drugs in soccer.

Fahey and Blatter signed a letter of intent to adopt the code, effective Jan. 1 of next year, and the move was rubber-stamped Friday.

FIFA and WADA, under previous president Dick Pound, were often at odds over doping sanctions and other issues. Fahey took over as WADA president on Jan. 1.

“The cooperation now is easier, much easier,” Blatter said Friday, without elaborating.

Sofoklis Pilavios, a member of the executive committee of Greece’s FIFA association, said while it was important to have some flexibility with the code, he felt “WADA and FIFA will work together very closely in the future.”

“WADA says two-year suspensions, and we felt that often these should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis,” said Pilavios. “But overall, it is good to get this agreement in effect.”

The new WADA code was endorsed by sports federations in November at a world doping conference in Madrid, Spain, though FIFA opposed certain measures affecting team sports.

Blatter, who is a member of the WADA board of governors, welcomed the inclusion of more flexible sanctions in the new code. These include the possibility of reduced penalties for minor offenses and sanctions not applying until an athlete or player has missed three doping tests.—AP