Blatter attacks FA handling of Rio case

FIFA President Sepp Blatter hit out at the English FA yesterday for its handling of the Rio Ferdinand affair, saying the Manchester United defender should have been dealt with “within a week.”

Ferdinand is due to appear before an FA hearing on December 18 to explain why he failed to take a mandatory drugs test in September, but the player has continued to play for United in the meantime.

Blatter, speaking on the eve of the draw for the preliminary rounds of the 2006 World Cup, displayed a far harder stance towards doping cases than before and insisted that Ferdinand's case should have been handled far quicker.

"Such cases must be dealt with immediately," Blatter said. "You cannot push the case to tomorrow, the day after or whatever.

"The case of Ferdinand is not a case which is under the direct authority of FIFA. But perhaps he is innocent, but if he is innocent, then declare him innocent.

"We are not happy, not only with England, but in other federations as well that these cases are not dealt with."

Blatter's original criticism of the Ferdinand affair last month was labelled "incomprehensible" by Manchester United chief executive David Gill.

Asked how he responded to the criticism, Blatter said: "Perhaps it is because he does not have a very clear conscience that he reacted in such a way."

Blatter said he "did not know the details" of the Ferdinand case, but referring to cases in which positive tests had been recorded, he said he regretted saying recently that football was a "clean" game.

"The situation in doping has changed and I was wrong to say that there was no doping."

Ferdinand has insisted he merely "forgot" to attend the test, although since the controversy which almost led to England's players boycotting a crucial Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey there have been calls for him to be banned as an example to other players.

Meanwhile the Football Association of Wales (FAW) general secretary David Collins hopes UEFA bear in mind the "gross simulation" which has left Ryan Giggs facing a potential World Cup suspension.

Giggs is expected to learn today whether he has been found guilty of improper conduct for an alleged elbow on Russia full-back Vadim Evseev in the Euro 2004 play-off match in Moscow.

The Manchester United star could be banned for the start of Wales' World Cup 2006 qualifying campaign, but the FAW insist Giggs was heavily provoked beforehand and that he made minimal contact with the Russian, whose goal in the second leg in Cardiff settled the tie.

"We will be very disappointed if Ryan Giggs is suspended," Collins said."We think very much that the Russian player was guilty of gross simulation. From our point of view, we hope he will survive to play for us again in the 2006 qualifiers."