5 North Koreans test positive
Source: Agencies |
July 17, 2011, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FIFA said yesterday that a total of five North Korean players have tested positive for steroids at the women's World Cup, football's biggest doping scandal at a major tournament in 17 years.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter said that after two players were caught during the tournament earlier this month, FIFA tested the rest of the North Korean squad and found that three more tested positive.
"This is a shock," Blatter told a news conference in Frankfurt, Germany. "You can hear this emotion in my voice."
The last doping case at a major event came at the men's 1994 World Cup in the United States, when Argentine Diego Maradona was kicked out after testing positive for stimulants.
FIFA has already met with a North Korean delegation and heard arguments that the steroids were accidentally taken with traditional Chinese medicines based on musk glands to treat players who had been struck by lightning on June 8 during a training camp.
The case will now be taken up by FIFA's disciplinary committee. Blatter said the federation had already apologized for the scandal.
Defenders Song Jong Sun and Jong Pok Sim tested positive for steroids after North Korea's first two group games and were suspended for the last match. The team was eliminated in the first round after losses to the US and Sweden and a draw with Colombia.
The US take on Japan in the final today.
Meanwhile, suspended Asian football chief Mohammed bin Hammam was tight-lipped yesterday over reports alleging he was not fully cooperating in investigations over a cash-for-votes bribery scandal concerning his aborted bid for the FIFA presidency.
On Friday, British media cited a FIFA ethics committee report that said the Asian Football Confederation president had refused to speak to investigators or provide his bank records during the probe.
The report, created by a private investigative agency, concluded there was "no direct evidence" linking bin Hammam to the offer or payment of cash but there was "compelling circumstantial evidence" that he was the source of the money, the Association Press said.
Bin Hammam is facing an investigation into allegations he tried to bribe members of the Caribbean Football Union to secure their votes at a meeting held in Trinidad in May as part of his bid to oust Blatter.
The 62-year-old Qatari will learn his fate when he appears at the ethics committee meeting, which will be convened in Zurich on July 22.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter said that after two players were caught during the tournament earlier this month, FIFA tested the rest of the North Korean squad and found that three more tested positive.
"This is a shock," Blatter told a news conference in Frankfurt, Germany. "You can hear this emotion in my voice."
The last doping case at a major event came at the men's 1994 World Cup in the United States, when Argentine Diego Maradona was kicked out after testing positive for stimulants.
FIFA has already met with a North Korean delegation and heard arguments that the steroids were accidentally taken with traditional Chinese medicines based on musk glands to treat players who had been struck by lightning on June 8 during a training camp.
The case will now be taken up by FIFA's disciplinary committee. Blatter said the federation had already apologized for the scandal.
Defenders Song Jong Sun and Jong Pok Sim tested positive for steroids after North Korea's first two group games and were suspended for the last match. The team was eliminated in the first round after losses to the US and Sweden and a draw with Colombia.
The US take on Japan in the final today.
Meanwhile, suspended Asian football chief Mohammed bin Hammam was tight-lipped yesterday over reports alleging he was not fully cooperating in investigations over a cash-for-votes bribery scandal concerning his aborted bid for the FIFA presidency.
On Friday, British media cited a FIFA ethics committee report that said the Asian Football Confederation president had refused to speak to investigators or provide his bank records during the probe.
The report, created by a private investigative agency, concluded there was "no direct evidence" linking bin Hammam to the offer or payment of cash but there was "compelling circumstantial evidence" that he was the source of the money, the Association Press said.
Bin Hammam is facing an investigation into allegations he tried to bribe members of the Caribbean Football Union to secure their votes at a meeting held in Trinidad in May as part of his bid to oust Blatter.
The 62-year-old Qatari will learn his fate when he appears at the ethics committee meeting, which will be convened in Zurich on July 22.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
