The subject of cheating in sport, including football, is a pretty hot topic right now, so it is no real surprise to hear the Arsenal manager giving his own thoughts on the subject. But Arsene Wenger may have overstepped the mark this time, or at least the imaginary mark laid down by the English FA.
What with all the scandal about FIFA and UEFA, with Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini and many others being investigated for financial irregularities and it looking like all of the recent World Cup´s have been bought, including the one held in Germany in 2006, it seems a bit rich for the football authorities to be taking players and managers to task.
That is just my opinion though, and the fact is that the FA does have the power to punish any people or clubs that it feels has broken it’s code of conduct and according to a Sky Sports report, the Arsenal boss could soon be joining his rival Jose Mourinho at the wrong end of one of their ticking offs.
I suppose we usually think more of sports like Athletics, Cycling and American ones like Baseball when we think of doping, but a lot of people think the problem goes across the board and one of those is our prof. But he may have taken his comments too far by hinting that there are teams that Arsenal have come up against who he is fairly sure have cheated.
The Guardian quote Wenger as saying, “I try to be faithful to the values that I believe to be important in life and to pass them on to others. In 30 years as a manager I’ve never had my players injected to make them better. I never gave them any product that would help enhance their performance. I’m proud of that. I’ve played against many teams that weren’t in that frame of mind.”
And the FA have now asked the Frenchman to explain his words and he may be forced to name names, which could get him into even more hot water as he would then have to prove his claims or get in trouble for slander. Or the FA could use that all encompassing charge of bringing the game into disrepute and he could be slapped with a touchline or stadium ban that could damage Arsenal.
So would Wenger have been better off saying nothing?
I don’t think its as serious as you said. The FA are just asking Arsene to share any info he might have in regards to their doping investigation.
I would think it is only natural for the FA to see if they can learn from Mr. Wengers observations around this issue but do not see how he can be a target of invetsigation. To do so, would suggest a lack of measure and hint the wrong mind set to advance the game.
FA can’t be the thought police or hold some one accountable for speaking about thier professional life experiances spanning 30 years in several coountries and levels.
Such approach would attempt to shut down legitimate public dialoge to advance the game.
Now wenger may just have got himself into something that does not concern him to a degree!……. Isn’t it better to just keep quiet and watch events unfold?…… If he ends up being targeted, it will be cuz of him voicing his opinion in the 1st place……. Just saying!
@soopa This doping investigations usually don’t have immediate results. Especially in the athletics which I find to be ridiculous. Once exposed, the effects can destroy a sport. Match fixing nearly destroyed Italian football.
Yup, I agree. They couldn’t compel him to name names publically, which evidently no-one in their right mind would do without being prepared for the distractions of a law-court. They couldn’t even compel him to name them privately, but they could ask him (with guarantees of confidentiality).
but if anyone is sanctioned (even if they are being disclosed to the FA in confidentiality) …….. All fingers will point at wenger as the brain behind the issue!….
Considering Dynamo had one of their players fail a drug test after our game, Arsene has a point. I don’t see him mention England or the EPL so I don’t see how the FA can have an issue with his statement.
Well said mate,
I was going to mention that game too ?
I remember Paul Merson coming out years ago,
He said that wenger used to give the players a yellow tablet to take before games….. But wenger was quick to deni that story.
Honestly, it’s just plain unwise of Arsene to make such comment. What teams could he be referring to and what frame of mind exactly is he talking about? How could he have known of any team had doped players????
However, it is no ground for the FA to take it personally becuz his comment was not directed at any club or league.
wenger said he has been in football for 30yrs..meaning the drug cheats were probably in france or japan and not neccessarily in england..the fa is just nosy and looking for someone to fine since their favourite noise maker has gone quiet with poor results.
Not in support of Dopes……..infact, it should be unearthed and completely abolished!………. Wenger did well to bring the matter into the spotlight….. But i will hate it if the axe falls on him
I think Rio Ferdinand was the last player in England that failed a drugs test… but his wasn’t a performance enhancing drug ? More like the opposite ? Red eye style ?
@ a star you could be right because when marseille(my hometown) won the CL league many many years ago:)they were done for bribing opponents but they were rumours of doping ,im sure chris”magic” waddle could tell us,apparently they used to get injections before games,all this stuff going on was the reason WENGER decided to leave french football because he thought it was impossible for others french teams to win the league in a fair manner!!