Abel Xavier

[Matthew The Rover]

What do you think should happen to him after he failed his drugs test?

I'd like to see him banned for life.

 

[championship_here_we_come]

i bet its a 12 or 18 month worldwide ban

 

[Banana Army]

What do you think should happen to him after he failed his drugs test?

I'd like to see him banned for life.

But thats completely unrealistic isnt it. He still syas that he didnt do it and yet Edgar Davids only got 9 months despite admitting taking nandrelome. If he does clear his name then hell obviously get nothing, if hes taken a recreational drug, such as amphetemines he'll get around 6-9 months and if he's takien a performance enhancer such as EPO or Nandrelome then hell get 9- 18 months.

 

[Joe_TRFC]

Surely he should get at least aslong as Rio did as Rio didnt actually fail one he just didnt turn up. So surely it should be at least 18 months??

 

[Banana Army]

Surely he should get at least aslong as Rio did as Rio didnt actually fail one he just didnt turn up. So surely it should be at least 18 months??

Yeh but a failed drugs test gets the same punishment as a non taken drugs test. Anyway Mutu only got 7 months and he took Cocaine

 

[bolton_hater]

apparently he didnt dope himself.

 

[Birkenhead Born and Bred]

With a hair cut like that don't be stupid he must be on drugs to have a hair cut like that!!

 

[ChiefRich]

I'd like to see him banned for life.

Very harsh attitude to take given the following (true as of this morning I admit):

+ we don't know what drug he took: which means
- we don't know if it was to improve his performance
- we don't know if it was against the (criminal) law
+ we don't know if he is guilty
- he may have been taking supplements recommended by a physio with country or club (remember the Dutch players)
- he may not have knowingly taken the drug
- he may have taken a legal substance that (for example) caused the level of the hormone nandrolone to rise involuntarily

I admit I was of the group that thought Rio Ferdinand should have been banned for 2 years on the grounds that his excuse for not going was pathetic. It was such that he could have been covering up something, and so on.


But here the test was taken. Let us see what it uncovers and if there is any legitimate defence before we start saying, "Let's ban him for life".

In general, footballers are very lucky that the sport has not signed up fully to the World Anti Doping Agency, which at this moment would probably give Abel Xavier an arbitrary and mandatory 2 year ban.

 

[Matthew The Rover]

Any player who takes drugs, whether they meant to or not, should be banned from the sport for life.

 

[Banana Army]

As a huge Cycling fan i'm used to seeing drug allegations come and pass, and i can tell you that drug sentences vary greatly.
e.g Gilberto Simoni was found to have taken EPO but he blamed it on a Peruvian cough sweet :lol: and got away with a lighter ban, where as 2 phonak riders were thought to have had blood transfusions and they automatically get 2 years with them still denying it.
Drugs are a horrible thing in sport as well though. Its not just immoral, there was runours in 2004 that cyclists teams were so obsessed with their performance they evn pinned them down and injectef them with "bad blood" to improve their REd Blood cell count to help them at altitude.

So its not only immoral, but dangerous and evil in some cases as well

 

[ChiefRich]

Any player who takes drugs, whether they meant to or not, should be banned from the sport for life.

What if he was taking cough medicine which had an effect? It has been known in the past that over-the-counter drugs for simple pain relief have produced effects.

Also, what do you mean when you say "or not"? Surely you can only not mean to take something if you don't know you took it, when surely if you didn't know you took it, you cannot be banned for taking it.

I just think that some/many/all cases are not as clear cut as tabloid newspapers would have you believe.


Cycling of course has terrible drug problems, but it doesn't mean that it or any sport should be arbitrary on drugs. Athletes are people too; they get horrible headaches, viral infections, cancer, bodily pain etc, so surely should be allowed to take some drugs to remedy this (e.g. paracetamol, which contains all sorts of substances). In an athlete's body where the substances entering the body are strictly controlled, these can have a much bigger effect on hormone production levels than in a normal person's body. This should be borne in mind when drug sampling and testing are entered into.

 

[Matthew The Rover]

They should read the label

 

[Seanyb]

Any player who takes drugs, whether they meant to or not, should be banned from the sport for life.

Your just seeing the word drugs and your jumping to a conclusion. The skier fella lost his medal because he came out positive on a drugs test. Did you know what he took............ Vicks nasal spray! Hardly a class-A drug.

The thing is with the rules based on drugs is that their are sooo many that i'm not suprised so many sportsmen take something without realising it is against the rules of the game. And the drugs themselves are often something you can buy over the counter.

 

[Banana Army]

Any player who takes drugs, whether they meant to or not, should be banned from the sport for life.

Your just seeing the word drugs and your jumping to a conclusion. The skier fella lost his medal because he came out positive on a drugs test. Did you know what he took............ Vicks nasal spray! Hardly a class-A drug.

The thing is with the rules based on drugs is that their are sooo many that i'm not suprised so many sportsmen take something without realising it is against the rules of the game. And the drugs themselves are often something you can buy over the counter.

Alan Baxter

 

[bolton_hater]

we shouldnt be banned for life if someone did this too him its not fair.

 

[ChiefRich]

They should read the label

Reading the label answers nothing.

The very basic supermarket brand of paracetamol I have on my desk contains 10 chemical agents, any one of which may or may not be banned in sport settings for performance-enhancing. More complicated drugs than paracetamol (yes, paracetamol is adrug) contain many more chemical agents that are much more dangerous.
The Vicks example is a very good example. The Shane Warne example in cricket is also an example of this as far as I am aware.

One of these chemicals may cause a hormone imbalance in a body causing excessive natural production of hormones (which can also be injected) which are banned. This has been raised as a defence in cases involving EPO and nandrolone in cycling I do believe.


All I am saying is give Abel Xavier a chance. Let us find out what is alleged to have happened, what he says, and then what the authorities rule, before saying "he should be banned for life".

 

[Seanyb]

Any player who takes drugs, whether they meant to or not, should be banned from the sport for life.

Your just seeing the word drugs and your jumping to a conclusion. The skier fella lost his medal because he came out positive on a drugs test. Did you know what he took............ Vicks nasal spray! Hardly a class-A drug.

The thing is with the rules based on drugs is that their are sooo many that i'm not suprised so many sportsmen take something without realising it is against the rules of the game. And the drugs themselves are often something you can buy over the counter.

Alan Baxter

Thats the fella! Couldn't think of his name. I don't reckon he should of stripped his medal from him. A nasel spray! Not cocaine!

 

[ChiefRich]

Yes there was a problem with my posting it. I was posting it and it was then telling me that the page had not loaded up.

I am sure that Ian could arrange for 2 of the 3 to be deleted...

 

[Super_white_army]

If you are asthmatic and you take a becotide inhaler and are in sport it can bring up all sorts of problems. Becotide contains steroids which can enhance the performance of you body.

 

[PaulCook'sMagicLeftFoot]

Anyone know who the Prem player is who's been banned for 6 months for testing positive for Coke in the close season?