Fifa president Sepp Blatter has defended his attack on Manchester United for continuing to play defender Rio Ferdinand despite him being charged with missing a doping test.
”If Fifa sees this sort of thing happening, it is its duty to intervene,” Blatter wrote in Wednesday’s Financial Times, ahead of Ferdinand’s appearance before England’s Football Association (FA) disciplinary panel on Thursday.
”It is the only way to make sure that the law is the same for everyone, rich and poor. Fifa cannot accept different strokes for different folks,” said Blatter, head of world soccer’s governing body.
”If this type of behaviour persists we may well consider promulgating a law to impose a lifetime ban on any player caught taking performance-enhancing drugs and relegation on his club.
”If clubs can’t control their players, who can?” asked Blatter.
Ferdinand failed to take a mandatory drugs test in September, insisting he merely ”forgot”.
”But surely, if we condemn a player who has either refused or miraculously forgotten to take a drug test, it is not Fifa that is at fault, but those directly responsible for this inexcusable omission and its aftermath,” Blatter wrote.
”That is the individual himself, his club, and the FA, which has not swiftly enforced the laws on the suspension of players that ought to be applied,” he added.
Although the FA has banned Ferdinand from playing for the English national team it has allowed Manchester United to continue selecting him for club matches.
Ferdinand is widely expected to be banned for at least three months when he appears before the FA on Thursday. — Sapa-AFP