Lawyer questions Rio appeal argument
Rio Ferdinand begins his appeal today against an eight-month ban for missing a drugs test with sports lawyers questioning the value of new evidence that his team will lay before the panel.
The Manchester United defender has already begun his suspension in the hope that if the ban is reduced tomorrow he will still be able to play for England in Euro 2004.
Ferdinand’s legal team are expected to claim at the hearing at a Heathrow hotel that results of tests on Ferdinand’s hair show he had not taken drugs.
But sports law expert John Hewison believes they are better off trying to claim that Ferdinand should be dealt with in the same fashion as other international footballers in Europe who have been treated more leniently.
Hewison: “There was no suggestion at the last hearing that he had been taking drugs and had therefore refused to take the test - just that there was no compelling reason as to why he had not taken the test.
“The disciplinary panel then came up with a punishment they thought was appropriate. The hair sample may demonstrate that he wasn’t using drugs, and that will be fine in so far as it shows the public and his commercial sponsors that he was clean, but it shouldn’t actually have a bearing on the case.
“If you are looking for a comparison with other high-profile cases however, you have to look to Europe and argue that he should be punished in line with players such as Jaap Stam or [Edgar] Davids.”
Lord Sebastian Coe, the former Olympic athlete who now advises the Football Association on doping issues, believes Ferdinand escaped lightly with an eight-month ban.
Coe, an advisor on the FA’s doping control review, will be watching the announcement on Friday closely.
He said: “On balance and given some of the circumstances, it’s probably about appropriate.
“All I would say is that, if an athlete had not taken a drug test for whatever reason and got eight months out of the sport, they’d think they had a result.”
Asked what he would say to the FA in his capacity as an advisor if Ferdinand’s ban was reduced, Coe added: “I would make observations if and when that happened. I would certainly speak to somebody.
“The FA have recognised there were areas where they needed to improve what they were doing.
“I was asked to look at their issues in a widespread manner and our report on that will be out.”
Ferdinand could have his suspension actually increased by the three-man appeals panel made up of Ian Mill QC, FA chairman Geoff Thompson and Roger Burden, a City businessman who also sits on UEFA’s disciplinary panel.
The Football Association’s lawyer Mark Gay is expected to draw the panel’s attention to article 63 of FIFA’s disciplinary code which recommends a one-year ban for such offences.
