DOPING

DOPING: WHAT IS IT AND HOW ARE EVALUATIONS CARRIED OUT IN SOCCER?

"We address the history of these procedures as well as their impact and application in football".

High sports competition tests the limits of human physical capacity, which combined with the tenacity in search of victory have managed to bring this activity to its maximum expression throughout history.

It is in this highly contested medium that science has begun to carve with the intention of optimizing the performance of athletes, although in the postmodern world that is both for good and for bad, as is the case with doping.

What is doping?

In simple terms and according to institutions such as the International Olympic Committee, doping is the consumption of prohibited substances or the use of prohibited methods to increase or maintain sports performance.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) defines doping  as the "occurrence of one or more anti-doping rule violations " that appear in its  code . These infractions are concentrated in the following eight points:

★Presence of a prohibited substance or its metabolites or markers in the sample obtained from an athlete.

★Use or intention of use of a prohibited substance or prohibited method by an athlete.

★Refuse to supply a sample or do so without convincing justification after notification, as well as simply evade sample collection.

★Not being available for out-of-competition testing, including failing to submit information about the athlete's whereabouts or documentation required for testing.

★Tampering or attempted tampering with any part of a doping control .

★Possession of prohibited substances and prohibited methods.

★Trafficking or attempting to traffic any prohibited substance or method.

★Administer or attempt to administer to any athlete, in or out of competition, a prohibited substance or method. Any kind of complicity in this act will also be punished.

Anyone wishing to check the full list of illegal substances and methods for sports can do so in the official WADA document .

In the case of FIFA, the governing body of football, anti-doping controls were introduced in 1966. As detailed by this organization, each of its anti-doping tests has an average cost of $ 1,000 and annually 30 million dollars are allocated to these procedures.

FIFA has a Medical Evaluation and Research Center and a Medicine Commission, the latter being responsible for the entity carrying out doping controls in its powers and also in other instances such as routine training, which is adds the prerogative to deliver authorizations for therapeutic use.

How the FIFA tests are carried out

In the first instance, a FIFA official verifies the identity of the footballer and the latter is also able to require the inspector to be accredited as such. After this, the athlete must be informed about the reasons behind the procedure and how it will be carried out, as well as the rights and responsibilities that correspond to him.

Once the formal process is completed, the player is given two sealed and sealed plastic cups, one labeled "A" and the other labeled "B". It is the responsibility of the official and the athlete to supervise the good condition of the containers.

The minimum urine level for the sample to be accepted is 90 milliliters and the athlete must give their authorization to the supervisor or an assistant to be observed while urinating. The official must ask the footballer for another sample if the required quantity is not reached.

Later, the doping test samples are taken to an AMA-accredited laboratory, but it is up to FIFA to determine how to transport the samples to the laboratory to maintain their safety. Bottles "A" and "B" will not be opened until the laboratory analyzes them.

The results of the analysis are made based on sample “A”, while sample “B” is saved in case there is a case of a counter-test request or some other subsequent analysis. Finally, FIFA receives the conclusions of the analysis and the player is only informed when the result is positive.