Soccer: Blatter blocks Rio’s route to court

OUTSPOKEN FIFA president Sepp Blatter has blocked Rio Ferdinand’s path to civil action over his eight-month ban imposed for missing a drugs test.

The Manchester United defender is still considering his options after being hit by what he called the “thunderbolt” of the massive suspension imposed last Friday after his failure to take a drugs test at his club’s Carrington training ground on September 23.

Old Trafford officials are furious with the verdict and in particular Blatter’s regular interventions during the three months between the failed test and the actual hearing.

Privately they accuse Blatter of jumping on a populist bandwagon by urging the Football Association to clamp down on a drugs problem he had previously claimed did not exist.

And now he has entered the debate again and insisted under the laws of the game Ferdinand cannot take his case to a civil court should he wish to pursue the matter beyond an initial appeal.

“According to the statutes of FIFA and its member associations, in this case, no recourse may be made to civil courts,” said Blatter.

“The highest court would be the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.”

Blatter denied weekend suggestions that he had threatened United with expulsion from the game should Ferdinand opt to take his case into the civil courts but the controversial Swiss is clearly on a collision course with one of the world’s biggest clubs.

He has already clashed once with United chief executive David Gill over the Ferdinand issue and having rounded on the FA for the length of time they took in setting up the hearing, Blatter yesterday “noted with satisfaction that this case has finally been dealt with and a decision passed.”

However, he also hinted the threat of an increased penalty on Ferdinand had not yet been lifted.

But no matter which way he turns, Ferdinand will retain the support of his sponsors and the players’ union, and if he is looking for legal advice, there are some highly qualified people who do not believe the FA’s handling of the whole affair stands up to too much scrutiny.

“If it had been a criminal case, it would have been thrown out because there was no way Rio was ever going to get a fair trial,” said John Hewison, a senior partner with Manchester-based sports law firm George Davies.

“The FA might claim the commission is independent but the three men who sat on it were all from the FA. It’s hard to see how all the publicity that went before the hearing couldn’t have influenced them in some way.”

Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Gordon Taylor has already made his feelings on the matter plain and Ferdinand has won added support from Nike.

Ferdinand is currently 12 months into a three-year sponsorship deal with Nike, which is believed to be netting him around stg£270,000.

And, despite fears to the contrary, the Londoner’s current problems will have no effect on the contract.

“This must be a very difficult time for Rio,” said Nike spokesman Simon Charlesworth. “He has been banned for a long time but we feel the decision is very harsh.

“We are sticking by him and our thoughts are with him.”

United have a ready-made replacement for Ferdinand in Wes Brown, who is on the verge of a first-team comeback, but Alex Ferguson also has the option of entering the transfer market on January 1, although he has pledged to keep playing Ferdinand as long as he is available.