Drug test policy will benefit GAA

A FULL and transparent drug testing policy will benefit the GAA for years to come, according to the Chief Executive of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), David Howman

Howman, in Ireland to address the Irish Anti-Doping Conference in Clontarf Castle this afternoon, understands the apprehension regarding out-of-competition testing but believes it is something the association needs to embrace.

“Obviously, if someone who plays Gaelic football on Sunday and who trains Tuesday and Thursday, they don’t want testers to come where they are earning a living wage and being asked to do a test,” he said yesterday.

“There is some rational in that. But if they say ‘don’t test me at those times’, they then have to make themselves available at other times when they can be tested out of competition.

“If you are testing fairly regularly and the players aren’t running away, that has to be good for your sport. I haven’t found a fair athlete who has said ‘I don’t want to be tested’. It is only those who are cheating who don’t want to be tested.”

Howman believes that the GAA, as the strongest sporting body in the country, has a responsibility to ensure their sport is clean.

“If the GAA can implement a full testing programme and be able to say that they don’t have cheats in their games, that is a good message to be sending to the youth of this country.”

Howman feels that amateurism should not be an issue. He claims 80% of all athletes tested by WADA are amateurs. Every sporting body, apart from the private organisations, have a role to play.

“The government is a major stakeholder in our anti-doping programme. If they are funded by the government, they have to be committed to our anti-doping policy. We need harmony and uniformity across the board and it is the only way to ensure the local Gaelic footballer and the international swimmer are treated the same way.”

While Howman admits purging sport of drugs is still a long way off, he has been content with the recent momentum . The THG scandal and the high-profile Rio Ferdinand case has shown that if athletes do something wrong, they will be punished.

“Externally, things have happened that have helped shift the societal approach. We have a society, globally now, where we are not condoning cheating. People are annoyed that cheating is still continuing in sport and that is a good thing.”

George W Bush gave his full support to the anti-doping programme in his State of the Union address and Howman believes everything is moving in the right direction.

“The winning of the war is an interesting question. If society can tell me that they want rid of all cheats across the board, then we will win the war. It is not just dope that is cheating in sport, there are cheats in sport on the field of play, there are cheats that bribe officials.”

Of course, the forthcoming Olympic Games might pierce all that optimism as it will be the major examination of the WADA code. “The code will mean every athlete will be subjected to pre-games testing, subjected to the same testing procedures while there, subjected to the same sanction if they test positive. Nobody can look at the guy in the next lane and say ‘I wonder if you were tested this year.

“You would be naïve to think there are going to be no positive tests at the Games. Athletes from various countries won’t be properly advised, properly educated. There will be stupid errors and intentional doping still goes on. Who knows what risks people are going to take this year,” he added.

The Irish Anti-Doping Rules will be unveiled at today’s conference. The rules will come into effect on June 1 and will ensure Ireland complies with the new World Code.