Soccer: Cup players face new blood tests and fines

FIFA has intensified its anti-drugs campaign at the World Cup soccer finals by introducing blood tests and will also impose unprecedented fines on players for faking fouls and shirt-pulling.

Players will undergo blood tests for the first time at the tournament in a bid to find banned substances in their bodies, FIFA communications director Keith Cooper said.

Any player who refuses to undergo the tests will not be allowed to take part.

"It is the first time we have had blood tests," Cooper told a news conference hours before yesterday's opening match between defending champions France and Senegal in Seoul, which was predicted to be watched by a global television audience of 500 million people.

All 32 teams have faced random tests in training for the first time in the run-up to the finals in Japan and South Korea.

Players have been asked to provide urine for analysis in the past after games, but blood tests increase scientists' ability to detect stimulants, steroids and blood-boosting products.

Players will be fined if they receive red or yellow cards. Anybody caught "diving" - faking a foul - and players penalised for shirt-pulling will face the toughest fines.

"FIFA's disciplinary committee met on Thursday and decided on the levels of the fines," Cooper said. "Diving will lead to a fine of 2000 Swiss francs ($NZ2721) as will shirt-pulling."

A red card or a sending-off for two cautions will result in a fine of 2000 francs. Any player who receives a second yellow card in the tournament, which usually results in a one-match suspension, will be fined 1000 francs.

Blood tests are carried out in leading Olympic sports such as athletics and swimming. The random tests help scientists catch cheats who use substances while they are preparing for an event but make sure their bodies are clear of drugs when they compete.

Football has seen some high-profile drug scandals in recent years involving players like Dutchmen Edgar Davids and Jaap Stam.

Soccer players could benefit from most of the drugs that are abused in top-class sport, especially muscle-building steroids or human growth hormones and stimulants. Stamina-boosting drugs such as EPO could also be useful in the game.

- REUTERS

nzherald.co.nz/fifaworldcup

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