IF Rio Ferdinand is charged and punished by the Football Association for not taking a drugs test, it won't be the first time the sporting authorities have taken action in similar cases.
Indeed, on this occasion soccer doesn't have exclusivity on its participants flouting the rules.
From bridge to ice skating, sportsmen and women have paid the penalty for refusing to take dope tests.
Indeed, in the case of Welsh rugby union club, Penygraig RFC, the entire squad of 22, including two policemen, took such a stance.
Nineteen were suspended by a Welsh Rugby Union special disciplinary panel for 18 months, after admitting refusing the tests following their victory in the Silver Ball Cup against Pontypridd.
Club secretary Peter Bowen was banned from being involved in the management or coaching of any club for three years.
In 2002 bridge player Disa Eythorsdottir was stripped of her World Championship silver medal for not giving a test.
Japanese-born US ice skater Kyoko Ina, three times an Olympic pairs skater, was suspended for four years.
And Lebanese weightlifter Youssef El Zein was stripped of a bronze medal won during the 2002 Asian Games.
One of the highest-profile athletes to be punished for the offence was Kenyan legend John Ngugi.
Suspension
The five-times world cross country champion received a four year suspension from the sport in 1993 though this was later reduced after 27 months.
And earlier this year rugby league journeyman Alan Shea was handed a two-year ban by Rugby League bosses. Shea refused the test while playing for Swinton Lions at the start of the Lions National League campaign.
The FA is under some pressure to act tough after being attacked earlier in the year by sports minister Richard Caborn for being too lenient in drugs cases.
He warned that they could lose millions of pounds in Government funding unless they take the same hard line as other sports.
Caborn fears that football's softer approach may badly affect London's 2012 Olympics bid, and has backed the World Anti Doping Agency's (WADA's) new tough approach on drugs.
The rules of football's world ruling body FIFA and WADA state that anyone failing to provide a specimen should be treated in the same manner as a positive test. Under WADA rules, that would mean a potential two-year ban for Ferdinand if the FA take the same stance.
FIFA has not yet signed up to the WADA guidelines - its own rules state that 12-month ban and a minimum £7,000 fine should be handed out.
Comments
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There's a large difference between 'refusal' and "Oh heck, I was meant to give blood so I'll go back now. Oh no, they've gone. I'll give blood tonight if you want!"
36 hours later he was still showing no signs of drug taking.
This country has gone completely off its rocker. It isn't run for the people anymore, it's run for the rest of the world.
'Refusal' might be the right word for the other cases in this article, but not for Rio. If he pays the price it will be for 'forgetfulness' or 'distraction' or 'stupidity' maybe. As the test 36 hrs later was clear, he had no reason to refuse in the first place, and so his taking off as he did should not be interpreted as an 'implicit' refusal either. It was the behaviour of a person who, on the day, was seriously distracted. This seems like common sense. Which is a problem of course, because there seems to be very little of that at the FA. Not the way they've behaved so far.
It is a dangerous message that the FA are sending out here. It seems that it is ok to be a footballer and be involved in rape, assault and even orgies because the FA will only fine you or ban you for a few matches, perhaps even curtail your international career for a few months, they will even go to great lengths to ensure that your name is not published in the rag sheets - but forget to turn up for a drugs test (that you later pass) and you might as well have worn a Turkey shirt in training. I think that United should take a strong stance on this to clear the player and the club's names.
Surely when these guys turnup they must work with the club doctor/officials, so if he has forgotten why has no one from the club not called him back in on his mobile???
Worst case scenerio send someone to bring him in surely they know his address???
These guys have come on spec (apparently) so maybe the player isn't available but should be contactable...even worse if it is pre-arranged the club has to take some responsibility in this case in ensuring and reminding players?
Aaaarrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!! The guy broke the rule's. He will be punished. Its that simple. As i have said before, its not one rule for Man u players and another for everyone else. You lot are as bad as Arsenal. "everyone's picking on us". Grow up!
Gez- youre obviously missing the point. It IS one rule for us, and one for everyone else, because when this has happened before, the FA havent taken any action until AFTER the hearing.
Have you actually been reading whats going on, or just seen this as another opportunity for you to attack United?
Muppet.
I think this is more a case of the FA covering their backs to make sure there can be no challenge to the result of the Turkey game and the fact that Rio is effectively being punished is simply a side effect of that. I can see where the FA are coming from and I do honestly believe that the same action would been taken for an England international playing for Arsenal or anyone else - any bias is against the England team rather than against MU in this case. Any subsequent punishment should now be reduced to take account of an effective 1 week ban that will already have been served. One question I would like the FA to answer is what they would do if it were a French international player ahead of a big France match?