Post by Taxigirl on Dec 18, 2003 10:28:09 GMT
Rio Ferdinand has arrived at Bolton's Reebok Stadium to explain to an independent disciplinary commission why he missed a drugs test on 23 September.
Ferdinand faces a Football Association misconduct charge for "failure or refusal" to take a test.
The Manchester United defender could be banned for up to two years if he is found guilty at the two-day hearing.
Ferdinand, who passed a drugs test 36 hours after missing his appointment, has not been picked for England since.
But he has continued to play for Manchester United, sparking a controversy that has even got Fifa president Sepp Blatter involved.
Blatter has suggested that Ferdinand should be suspended until a decision is made, and that United should be docked points for the matches they have won with Ferdinand in the team since his missed drugs test.
"Surely, if we condemn a player who has either refused or miraculously forgotten to take a drug test it is not Fifa that is at fault, but those directly responsible for this inexcusable omission and its aftermath.
"That is the individual himself, his club, and the FA, which has not swiftly enforced the laws on the suspension of players that ought to be applied.
"If Fifa sees this sort of thing happening, it is its duty to intervene. It is the only way to make sure that the law is the same for everyone, rich and poor.
"Fifa cannot accept different strokes for different folks."
Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor believes there is little chance of a fair hearing for Ferdinand after so much press scrutiny.
"Any opportunity to deal with the matter objectively has been lost," said Taylor.
"The whole thing is a complete mess and the FA has put itself into a very difficult position.
"On one hand you have Sepp Blatter trying to make Rio out to be public enemy number one, on the other you have the FA trying to stand up to Manchester United.
"I don't want to pre-judge the hearing but it appears the FA feels it has to put a marker down.
"I believe it will look to make Rio a scapegoat. If that happens, it would be extremely unfair."
How the Rio hearing will work
On Thursday morning, Rio Ferdinand faces the disciplinary hearing which will decide his immediate future.
But how exactly will the process work, and who are the people who will decide whether Ferdinand is punished, and how severely, for failing to attend a drugs test last September?
The hearing begins at 1100 GMT at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton.
The independent three-man commission will be headed by 56-year-old retired estate agent Barry Bright, chairman of the Football Association's disciplinary committee and FA councillor for Kent since 1984.
Bright has appointed his two fellow commission members, Roger Burden and Frank Pattison, on the basis of their experience in the field of anti-doping.
Neither man is employed by the FA, and none of the three have been involved in the gathering of evidence which forms the case against Ferdinand.
Bright himself has responsibility for the FA's doping control programme and has sat on a number of major drugs cases for Uefa.
He chaired the panel which fined Ferdinand's team-mate Roy Keane £150,000 in October last year for comments made in his autobiography about Alf Inge Haaland, and also the commission which banned Robbie Fowler for four games in 1999 for pretending to snort the goal line during the Merseyside derby.
Bright headed the panel that handed Mark Bosnich a nine-month ban after the goalkeeper tested positive for cocaine.
The FA's case against Ferdinand will be presented first. It has been prepared by Steve Barrow, head of the FA's compliance unit, and will be submitted by Mark Gay QC.
Gay represented the England and Wales Cricket Board during the row over England's cancelled trip to Zimbabwe earlier this year, and is also working for the International Association of Athletics Federations in their case against American sprinter Kelli White.
Ferdinand's legal team, led by Graham Shear - the lawyer who is also defending Dwain Chambers in his THG case - will then make the case for the defence.
In Ferdinand's corner will be Ronald Thwaites QC and Maurice Watkins, a Manchester United director and solicitor
Ferdinand will bring forward an extensive list of witnesses, including Manchester City midfielder Eyal Berkovic, who is believed to have been with his former West Ham team-mate on the afternoon in question.
A character statement from England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson is also expected to be presented. Sir Alex Ferguson and Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, are expected to speak on the player's behalf.
United's club doctor Mike Stone will provide a detailed chronology of how events at the club's training ground unfolded on 23 September.
The hearing can continue as late on Thursday and Friday as the commission chooses.
Provision has been made for it to continue into Saturday morning if necessary, but this website understands that every effort will be made to have it concluded by Friday night.
When the three men have heard the cases for both prosecution and defence, they retire to consider their verdict.
The commission must reach a majority decision.
When the verdict is announced to the two parties, Ferdinand's team then has 14 days to appeal against any punishment.
But an appeal would delay the start of any ban - meaning that Ferdinand would risk missing both the crucial games in the Premiership run-in and also possibly Euro 2004.
The FA must accept the ruling of the commission.