The UEFA EURO 2008™ finalists have signed a ground-breaking Anti-Doping Charter paving the way for blood tests to be carried out on players for the first time. The heads of the national associations of the 16 participating teams put pen to paper in Vienna during the finalists' workshop, allowing for both blood and urine samples to be taken in some 300 tests before and during this summer's tournament in Austria and Switzerland.
Stringent measures
The stringent new measures will enable the identification of banned substances, including the blood-boosting drug EPO, while a new technique to test for growth hormones will be used at an international event for the first time. Experts will also be able to determine whether a player's blood has been abnormally manipulated by means of a transfusion. "What is happening today is a very strong signal from all the associations to say that we are fighting against doping in football," said UEFA President Michel Platini ahead of the signing ceremony at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, which will stage the EURO final on 29 June.
Spot checks
The charter gives the green light to the minimum 160 spot checks that the finalists will undertake even before a ball is kicked. Testers will arrive unannounced on at least one occasion, either in the initial stages of preparation or once the teams have established their bases in Austria or Switzerland ahead of the tournament's opening game on 7 June. UEFA's 12 Doping Control Officers (DCOs) will lead the tests before sending the samples to the WADA-accredited Seibersdorf laboratory in Austria, with the results forwarded to UEFA prior to the first match between co-hosts Switzerland and the Czech Republic in Basel.
'Protect integrity'
"As the international independent organisation responsible for co-ordinating and monitoring the global fight against doping in sport, WADA is pleased that UEFA has put in place for this event an anti-doping programme that complies with all the requirements of the World Anti-Doping Programme," said WADA representative and Portuguese Secretary of State for Sport, Laurentino Dias. "WADA is looking forward to continuing its successful co-operation with UEFA and the other members of the football family in the lead up to this major event and beyond, to protect the integrity and fairness of the game and provide doping-free sport."
Match testing
A further 124 tests will be carried out during the 31 matches of the tournament itself, with two players from each team selected and then escorted to the doping control area to provide samples immediately after the final whistle is blown. The WADA-approved laboratory in Lausanne will work around the clock throughout the competition, and will analyse the samples within 48 hours, so UEFA will be notified of the results of the tests before a team's following match. UEFA is also working closely with independent Swiss and Austrian National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs) during the tournament. Both NADOs will provide experienced chaperones who will accompany each player directly to the doping control testing room.
by Gavin Jackson from Vienna
