The number of drug tests undertaken by the Football Association has significantly increased this season, though the recent spate of positives is not the result of a crackdown by the governing body.
Three professional players have been suspended by their respective clubs in recent days following positive tests, after there were four violations during the whole 2013-14 season. Hull City’s Jake Livermore tested positive for cocaine following an in-competition test after his side’s win at Crystal Palace, and Jose Baxter of Sheffield United and Wolves’ Aaron McCarey both failed out-of-competition tests.
The FA carries out drug tests alongside UK Anti-Doping and complies with the World Anti-Doping Agency code which operates a policy of strict liability. Last season the FA undertook 1,604 tests from which there were four violations. During 2012-13 there were 1,413 tests and three violations. Figures for 2014-15 will be released at the end of the season but it is understood that the number of tests exceeds 2,000.
The FA, which attempts to educate players about the risk of doping, does not publish names of those who have failed out-of-competition tests through the use of non-performance-enhancing drugs. The governing body has increased the number of tests because more players are now involved in the professional game, including the Women’s Super League.
Wolves have said the goalkeeper McCarey failed a test for “a non-performance-enhancing substance”; Sheffield United said there were “traces of a banned substance” in Baxter’s sample. Both players have denied wrongdoing.
