The Hindu : Sport : ICC anti-doping rules at variance with WADA's

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 27, 2006
ePaper

Sport

Sport

ICC anti-doping rules at variance with WADA's

K.P. Mohan

NEW DELHI: Who is a cricket player? According to the International Cricket Council (ICC) anti-doping code he is "a person who participates as a player in the relevant ICC event."

And a cricketer? "Cricketer means the cricket players and the cricket support personnel involved in playing cricket for one of the members participating in the relevant ICC event." So says the ICC code.

In simple terms, the ICC code does not encompass the whole of the cricket players representing its members or players competing under the members' jurisdiction at every level.

"The anti-doping code is binding only for ICC events. When we signed up with the WADA, we expected others to follow suit. We hope the rest of the boards will join. They have approved in principle that they will all be WADA compliant within the next four years," an ICC spokesman told The Hindu in Chandigarh on Wednesday.

International federations are expected to follow the WADA Code when they sign up; their constituent units have to just fall in line. There are no national federations among WADA signatories.

WADA code

The ICC signed the WADA Code last July. Only five of its 10 Full Members have anti-doping rules in place. Pakistan is one of them. Yet, to date nothing is clear about the rules the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has in its anti-doping policy. The rules will be of relevance when the PCB decides the fate of its players, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, who have been charged with positive dope tests for steroid nandrolone. The hearing process has already started.

If the PCB has framed its rules on the lines of ICC or WADA, the two bowlers face two-year suspensions if the charges are proved. The suspension period could be reduced under the "exceptional circumstances" rule but the rule cannot be applied to argue that no doping violation had taken place.

"Cricket has to be seen to be behaving in a manner the other sport want to emulate. We want to ensure cricket is a front-runner and expect all members to test and move into line," says the ICC spokesman.

Members' responsibility

Inexplicably, however, the ICC code is found wanting in many respects, though it is based on the WADA Code. Take for example this clause in the introductory (background) section: "It shall be the responsibility of all members who compete in ICC events to ensure that all cricketers who wish to participate in ICC events are aware of this anti-doping code."

The WADA Code says, under `roles and responsibilities of international federations' (20.3.2): "To require as a condition of membership that the policies, rules and programmes of national federations are in compliance with the Code."

It also further states (20.3.3): "To require all athletes and athlete support personnel within their jurisdiction to recognise and be bound by anti-doping rules in conformance with the Code."

ICC's out of competition testing is limited to what it calls "support period" which is a short period before the commencement of an ICC tournament and its conclusion within a host country. WADA's anti-doping campaign is primarily based on its out-of-competition testing throughout the year.

Testing

ICC wants member units which have not started testing out of competition, including India, to start testing soon. But that alone will not help. To be able to enforce rules and intervene if required, especially in cases involving international cricketers, the ICC will need more teeth than it has now.

"ICC is as strong as its members want it to be," says the ICC spokesman.

Two clauses in the existing rules, however, merit mention here and could be of relevance even in the latest debate about the Pakistani cricketers. In the background section, the ICC code states: "This anti-doping code extends to all cricketers who participate in ICC events." AndRule 2.1.1 says: "It is the personal responsibility of cricketers to be knowledgeable of and comply with the terms of this anti-doping code."