Rio Ferdinand has given his backing to the introduction of stricter drug-testing controls in British football, a stance that may surprise some considering the Manchester United defender was banned from playing for eight months after he failed to attend a doping test five years ago.
Ferdinand believes the requirement of 30 elite players based in this country to be available each day for testing, and then for five random drug tests a year outside the usual requirements after matches, is the right thing to do if it means footballers coming into line with the way competitors in other sports are tested.
The so-called "whereabouts" policy already exists in athletics, where those taking part must provide details of their location each day, and the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) now plans to make it a mainstream procedure. It has yet to finalise with the Football Association how exactly the new testing controls will work in England but, if set up in its proposed form, it would see players receive an automatic 12-month ban if they missed three tests in 18-month period,
"If it brings us up to the level of other sportsmen then I'm in favour," said Ferdinand, who was forced to miss Euro 2004 because of his ban. "We get tested randomly quite a lot anyway. A lot of players are tested three or four times a season, so it would be no different to what we are used to. If the powers that be say moving to that level is the right thing to do, then we'll get on with it."
The Wada protocol was criticised by the PFA chief executive, Gordon Taylor, earlier this week after he claimed it had the potential to "invade the privacy of a player's home". But rather then focusing on that, Ferdinand thinks the measures send out an important message to the next generation of footballers, one which could stop them making the same mistake he once did.
"My advice to young players would be that you have to deal with whatever rules are out there," added the 30-year-old. "Make sure you are there to be tested and let people know where you're going to be. It's as simple as that."
Meanwhile, Ferdinand has described David Beckham as "a superstar on and off the field" and looks forward to him becoming England's most capped player. The midfielder will match Bobby Moore's 108 caps if he plays in next week's friendly with Germany and would then be 17 off Peter Shilton's record. "Nobody gave him those caps for fun," he said. "It hasn't been an easy ride to get where he is now."
