Football still shying away from the thorny question of doping

In 20 years, no player has yet tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in the Premier League.

Football, in general, sees far fewer drug cases than cycling or athletics. Of course, Lance Armstrong passed a lot of tests too, so you wonder what football’s low hit-rate means.

When you talk about the subject of drugs in football, one argument that comes up a lot is that there isn’t a problem with performance-enhancing drugs in football because drugs don’t enhance football performance. Disciplines like cycling and swimming are about testing the limits of how much power the body can produce, and we know certain drugs can raise your physiological ceiling. No drug can make you a better footballer. Football, as Cruyff said, is a game you play with your brain.