Was a potential Premier League scandal hidden?
In the world of sport, doping is unfortunately part of the game – no matter what game it is that you’re playing. Some sporting organisations are much stricter on this kind of thing, such as combat sports, whereas others are considered to be more lenient. There are even some where it’s barely mentioned, but it’s hard to say whether that’s because it isn’t prevalent or because testing agencies simply aren’t that passionate about catching people.
In football, there have been a handful of notable issues over the years, but nothing that has ever amounted to a massive ‘scandal’. We’ve even heard the likes of Gary Neville and Roy Keane talk about Italian clubs that they felt were doping after playing them, but these things never really get much further than rumours. Why? Well, there are plenty of reasons, but we do think it’s probably a lot more difficult to get definitive testing done in team sports.
Then again, maybe that’s just an excuse. Maybe we need to be questioning these governing bodies a bit more, if only so that we can get a bit of clarity on what kind of procedures they like to put in place. Whatever the answer may be, it certainly seems like there’s a lot we aren’t being told.
Two players tested positive
Just take this report from The Athletic as an example. Last season, two players tested positive for a banned substance during tests that were carried out in Premier League and English Football League games. It’s unclear what substances were found, and it’s also not clear why there was no official punishment handed down.
Apparently, the number of tests carried out by the UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) has also dropped significantly over the course of the last few years. There were 2,176 tests across the top four tiers of English football which is in comparison to 2,545 the year before. That is a fall of 11%, and you’d have to say that it’s a big concerning for those who are interested in seeing a level playing field.
The English Football Association (FA) claims that they take anti-doping very seriously and that they want to safeguard the sport, but it’s easier to say that than to actually prove it. We aren’t suggesting that they want to see people get away with things or that they have a deep knowledge of the pros and cons of primobolan 100, but we do want to see some more action as time goes on.
The fitness levels required in professional football are crazy and those who have never watched or played the game can’t really begin to understand the cardio that is needed to succeed. At the same time, that doesn’t mean we want to see people cheating. Who does?
We don’t think there’s ever going to be an easy solution to doping problems and we can’t sit here and lay out a game plan that would work for everyone. What we do know, though, is that there is a shocking lack of information out there about this, and we want to see that change.
