Doping in Soccer/Football

[maltiv]

Exactly, a very pertinent question. The number of heart attacks for professional players on the field is just staggering over the last 10 years, and that's not just because they're more widely reported than before.

The answer may not be so straightfoward. There's possibly a few PhD's in the offing on this.

Indeed. It's really sad. I just cannot believe that this is only random. I mean, in the 90's, tons of cyclists died from heart failure too. Since the EPO tests started, I can't remember a single case.

Those football players aren't tested at all, so they obviously can dope themselves up as much as they please. Which is ridiculously dangerous. If they don't start doing serious tests soon, more people will die. Of course, it wouldn't stop doping, but it restrains them from doing lethal dozes.

Obviously we can't know if this particular player was doped, but the general high level of heart failures can't be explained by anything else, really.

 

[FabulousCandelabra]

Are they EPO testing these footballers? It's crazy to hear about 25 year old athletes having heart attacks.. I'm a bit of a hypochondriac and heart attack is one of my favorite things to worry about.. so when I hear about far more athletic people dropping dead, it worries me.

 

[gerundium]

interesting wiki list on this very subject, a list players who died while playing a football game. Of course the early data is very suspect and unreliable but the increase from the nineties onwards of heart attacks is interesting.

list of football deaths

 

[ParfaitAmour]

Reading that list, compare how no-one dies between 51-63, yet all the heart related deaths in the last ten years.

I know nothing about testing in football. Like the rest of the public I'd guess performance enhancers are tested for...but are they ?

 

[Albatros]

again a very interesting post.

one question I wanted to ask:
what is it with footballplayers and nandrolon? Why is nandrolon the only PED they get caught for?

At one time there must have been a free for all usage of nandrolone until someone, suddenly switched on the machine in Italy. Many foreing imports got cuaght with nandrolone when they joined Serie A, included Barcelona current manager, Guardiola. Gurpegui was an isolated incident in Spain later on, and if I remember well, the first player ever to be punished for doping in Spain. Others had been caught, but for one thing or another they all escaped punishment

BTW, Xavi has never taking HGH....officially. It is something that you mentioned and it is wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if he has taken it though.

 

[Albatros]

Because they don't test for stuff like HGH, and they do very few blood tests, and always with an advance warning.

Very few? None at all. There are no blood tests in football and most urine tests do not test for EPO. The only reason there are few positives in football is the players are not getting tested.

 

[Albatros]

Reading that list, compare how no-one dies between 51-63, yet all the heart related deaths in the last ten years.

I know nothing about testing in football. Like the rest of the public I'd guess performance enhancers are tested for...but are they ?

Only urine tests, and as far as I know, they only test for EPO in the UEFA Champions League games. In the Spanish League out of the 10 matches played, they only test in two of the games, two players in each. No EPO tests.

In the UEFA CH L they do some out of competition testing, but only from the last 32 until the teams are out of the competition. And still, teams can miss a test, by suspending a training session if they find out early enough. I know that UEFA officials were waithing for BArcelona players that never appear on the pitch, when they turned out for a expected training session. Barcelona or any team,are oblied to notify UEFA if a change of training schedule takes place, but failed to inform UEFA. Also other teams have done the same thing. So it seems that all is still very lax when it comes to testing in football.

 

[Caruut]

At one time there must have been a free for all usage of nandrolone until someone, suddenly switched on the machine in Italy. Many foreing imports got cuaght with nandrolone when they joined Serie A, included Barcelona current manager, Guardiola. Gurpegui was an isolated incident in Spain later on, and if I remember well, the first player ever to be punished for doping in Spain. Others had been caught, but for one thing or another they all escaped punishment

BTW, Xavi has never taking HGH....officially. It is something that you mentioned and it is wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if he has taken it though.

It was around the time that CONI said "this is getting stupid" with cycling as well, wasn't it?

On the Xavi thing, he didn't say official, he said "we know". A journalist well-connected to and sympathetic to Barcelona said so, without realising it was illegal to be taking HGH.

 

[Caruut]

Only urine tests, and as far as I know, they only test for EPO in the UEFA Champions League games. In the Spanish League out of the 10 matches played, they only test in two of the games, two players in each. No EPO tests.

In the UEFA CH L they do some out of competition testing, but only from the last 32 until the teams are out of the competition. And still, teams can miss a test, by suspending a training session if they find out early enough. I know that UEFA officials were waithing for BArcelona players that never appear on the pitch, when they turned out for a expected training session. Barcelona or any team,are oblied to notify UEFA if a change of training schedule takes place, but failed to inform UEFA. Also other teams have done the same thing. So it seems that all is still very lax when it comes to testing in football.

How do you find out the testing schedules?

 

[sniper]

BTW, Xavi has never taking HGH....officially. It is something that you mentioned and it is wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if he has taken it though.

Xavi had been using HGH for recovery, according to some english reporter who later had to retract his statements or pay a huge fine.

Yesterday evening, we posted a piece where we reported that Mr. Graham Hunter, a journalist with Sky Sports--among other things--casually mentioned that Barcelona, and Xavi in particular had used "growth hormone" to treat a chronic achilles injury. In this case, the devil is in the details: while Mr. Hunter did say "growth hormone," this was actually a misnomer and a mistake on his part; we took that statement and ran with it, which was inappropriate and unprofessional.

http://www.managingmadrid.com/2012/...on-and-special-comment-on-growth-hormone-post


Another interesting read on the same issue:
http://jonathansachse.de/2012/graham-hunter-xavi-bekommt-wachstumshormone/

 

[hrotha]

Very few? None at all. There are no blood tests in football and most urine tests do not test for EPO. The only reason there are few positives in football is the players are not getting tested.

They do have blood tests, but they're not common, and as I said they get advance warning. In the case of Spain, for example, there's no blood tests as part of the national league antidoping program, but FIFA does blood tests every now and then. There was a pretty thorough report on antidoping in Spain published in Marca a while ago, it's either in this thread or in another football thread. I'll try to find it.

edit: et voila
http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showpost.php?p=458651&postcount=112
http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showpost.php?p=458689&postcount=114

 

[The Hitch]

In the UEFA CH L they do some out of competition testing, but only from the last 32 until the teams are out of the competition. And still, teams can miss a test, by suspending a training session if they find out early enough. I know that UEFA officials were waithing for BArcelona players that never appear on the pitch, when they turned out for a expected training session. Barcelona or any team,are oblied to notify UEFA if a change of training schedule takes place, but failed to inform UEFA. Also other teams have done the same thing. So it seems that all is still very lax when it comes to testing in football.

Lol thanks for that, where did you hear it.

They do have blood tests, but they're not common, and as I said they get advance warning. In the case of Spain, for example, there's no blood tests as part of the national league antidoping program, but FIFA does blood tests every now and then. There was a pretty thorough report on antidoping in Spain published in Marca a while ago, it's either in this thread or in another football thread. I'll try to find it.

edit: et voila
http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showpost.php?p=458651&postcount=112
http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showpost.php?p=458689&postcount=114

Cheers hrotha. great info there.

 

[Albatros]

How do you find out the testing schedules?

UEFA site and Spanish FA site.

 

[Albatros]

They do have blood tests, but they're not common, and as I said they get advance warning. In the case of Spain, for example, there's no blood tests as part of the national league antidoping program, but FIFA does blood tests every now and then. There was a pretty thorough report on antidoping in Spain published in Marca a while ago, it's either in this thread or in another football thread. I'll try to find it.

edit: et voila
http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showpost.php?p=458651&postcount=112
http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showpost.php?p=458689&postcount=114

Could you provide a link, cause I have been on the UEFA site and they do only urine tests. FIFA? I doubt it, but it is the only chance.

EDIT. No need for it, FIFA did it for the last World Cup.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/22/world-cup-drug-testing-fifa

 

[Albatros]

Xavi had been using HGH for recovery, according to some english reporter who later had to retract his statements or pay a huge fine.



http://www.managingmadrid.com/2012/...on-and-special-comment-on-growth-hormone-post


Another interesting read on the same issue:
http://jonathansachse.de/2012/graham-hunter-xavi-bekommt-wachstumshormone/

It was this platelet-rich plasma treatment. Even the radio station had to retract from their inital statement.

Had not read your link. There it is clear they had made a mistake.

 

[The Hitch]

Could you provide a link, cause I have been on the UEFA site and they do only urine tests. FIFA? I doubt it, but it is the only chance.

EDIT. No need for it, FIFA did it for the last World Cup.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/22/world-cup-drug-testing-fifa

the link is in the post he links.

http://www.youkioske.com/prensa-deportiva/diario-marca-10-marzo-2011

 

[Albatros]

the link is in the post he links.

http://www.youkioske.com/prensa-deportiva/diario-marca-10-marzo-2011

MARCA only brought the doping issue about because Barcelona were leading in the league. Not interest whatsoever in finding out what was going on. A few days later a Spanish Radio station stated that Real Madrid wanted more serious tests because they were unhappy with the connections of Barcelona and Valencia with dubious doctors in the past.

This season Real Madrid are literally flying (as well as at the end of last season), but everything seems to be normal for the Spanish media.

This is the fastest ever srpint recorded on a football pitch, and that after 105 minutes of play

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUavqPyFRnE

And this run took place on the 116 minute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pu-o-DQzSU

If it is all down to physical training, nutrition and genetics, congratulations to the human race.

Football today seems as unreal as cycling has been in the last years, or tennis or any other sport for that matter.

I wonder why some athletic track events records still exist from as far back as the 80's and early 90's with the tremendous improvement in physical output we are witnessing in other sports.

Watch an 80's game in extra time and they all looked like walking zombies.

 

[euanli]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/apr/16/udinese-piermario-morosini-di-natale

The former Italy Under-21 international is survived by his severely disabled older sister. His mother passed away when he was 15, his father died soon after and his disabled brother killed himself

 

[Caruut]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/apr/16/udinese-piermario-morosini-di-natale

His life seems to have been beset by tragedy after tragedy.

Albatros - do you not think that there is a chance that he was using HGH, and that the "plasma-rich treatment" (which sounds awful like blood doping) wasn't just a cover-up?

 

[Albatros]

His life seems to have been beset by tragedy after tragedy.

Albatros - do you not think that there is a chance that he was using HGH, and that the "plasma-rich treatment" (which sounds awful like blood doping) wasn't just a cover-up?

Nope. No chance whasoever. It was a mistake by Graham Hunter and the interviewers , confounding growth factors with HGH. That treatment has also been used by Chelsea among other teams and is perfectly legal.

I would assume that Graham Hunter would not be told of illegal treatments by Barcelona staff if they had taken place.

Far more convincing, if we want to link Barcelona to doping, is the fact that they wanted to sign Eufemiano twice, that Guardiola tested for nandrolone while being treated by Doctor Segura who I still think is Barca doctor, or that according to Le Monde, even if they couldn't prove it, Eufemiano Fuentes showed them papers with Barcelona doping plans for the 2005 2006 season.

 

[Stingray34]

Morosini's autopsy inconclusive, will now consider toxicological evidence. Things could get interesting, but I doubt it.

 

[Kennf1]

Nope. No chance whasoever. It was a mistake by Graham Hunter and the interviewers , confounding growth factors with HGH. That treatment has also been used by Chelsea among other teams and is perfectly legal.

I would assume that Graham Hunter would not be told of illegal treatments by Barcelona staff if they had taken place.

Far more convincing, if we want to link Barcelona to doping, is the fact that they wanted to sign Eufemiano twice, that Guardiola tested for nandrolone while being treated by Doctor Segura who I still think is Barca doctor, or that according to Le Monde, even if they couldn't prove it, Eufemiano Fuentes showed them papers with Barcelona doping plans for the 2005 2006 season.

Platelet rich therapy has also been used by Tiger Woods and olympic swimmer Dara Torres. The treatment was administered by Canadian doctor Anthony Galea, who coincidentally is under criminal investiation for illegally distributing HGH.

Edit: he reached a plea agreement in 2011 and was given a one year suspended sentence.

 

[T_S_A_R]

jack wilshire out the euros. he hasn't played since june the 4th 2011 due to a succesion of minor injuries.

he was drug tested on the 2nd of june 2011.

http://twitter.com/#!/JackWilshere/status/76261390846930944

 

[hrotha]

MARCA only brought the doping issue about because Barcelona were leading in the league. (...)

Of course, they were being opportunistic basterds, but the interesting question, regardless of why they published the report, is: was the report itself accurate?

 

[Albatros]

Of course, they were being opportunistic basterds, but the interesting question, regardless of why they published the report, is: was the report itself accurate?

I think it was. It depicted the Spanish antidoping tests as a joke .

They just went into what substances they looked for, no HGH or EPO, and how often and how many players were tested, very few. Also the nature of the tests, only urine tests. Well, more or less what we have mentioned here.

In spite of the poor test quality and frequency there have been a few positive tests, but except Gurpegui and a couple more, all the players got away with it for one reason or another. I remember two Real Madrid B players that got caught with banned substances in the early 90's but Real Madrid doctors managed to convince the anti doping authorities that they came from contaminated suplements.