A&H

Should referees be drug tested?

Yampy

Yampy

RefChat Addict
In light of the Maria Sharapova case, do you think referees should be drug-tested?
A football referee isn't a sportsperson as such but, the job is very physical and requires a certain degree of fitness to perform at any level. Indeed, one of the criteria for promotion (and staying there) is passing a fitness test. How would you feel as a budding L5-4 candidate if you found out you missed promotion because of a referee who was fitter than you but had taken banned medication in order to pass the test?
 
The Referee Store
David Sutton said:
In light of the Maria Sharapova case, do you think referees should be drug-tested?
A football referee isn't a sportsperson as such but, the job is very physical and requires a certain degree of fitness to perform at any level. Indeed, one of the criteria for promotion (and staying there) is passing a fitness test. How would you feel as a budding L5-4 candidate if you found out you missed promotion because of a referee who was fitter than you but had taken banned medication in order to pass the test?
Click to expand...

Wouldn't bother me.
At top class professional sport level, cheating in this way is tested for because of the big money involved in victory/loss.
But a Level 5-4 referee doing a basic 7.5 minute mile fitness test? No.
The FA would never fund such an initiative anyway, not down at that level..... :)
 
Got to wonder why someone would bother to go to the quite large expense and risk the potential health related side effects of using performance enhancing substances if it was just for refereeing purposes. Hire a personal trainer to work with you 3 days a week and sort your diet out. A lot cheaper.
 
I don't think performance enhancing drugs are an issue for referees - you don't exactly have to be an Olympic class athlete to pass the fitness test. You could argue that a referee taking illicit substances (performance enhancing or otherwise) could be compromising his/her integrity but unless there was evidence to show that this was common I think drug testing is unnecessary.

Does anyone know if drug testing has ever been applied to officials in other sports?
 
I've heard of referees using asthma inhalers when they don't need them for health reasons.
 
bester said:
I've heard of referees using asthma inhalers when they don't need them for health reasons.
Click to expand...
To what benefit though?

To be honest, some of the comments players come out with at times do make me wonder if they are under the influence of something :rolleyes:

Don't really see the need to be honest. Even if a referee's performance could be 'enhanced' with a magic drug it would surely only be to the benefit of the game.
 
Would I care if I knew a referee was doing EPO or some such performance enhancer? I doubt it. Recreational drugs would be another matter entirely.
 
Wrong side of 50, wrong side of 11st... do i care? nope... as long as i can get up and down the FOP (must be wheelchair accessible) and i enjoy refereeing i would never take any kind of enhancing products(posh innit) apart from cup coffee to wake me up before i leave home i be a happy bunny:cool: :cool::cool:
 
I'd say not at 4-3 level but potentially higher.

At the end of the day, those of us that are trying to push up to the footballing pyramid are doing it for our own personal reasons, and at that level you're competing with each other to reach an elite position. A position very few get to hold and one that is, among other things, very well paid.

I'm not expert when it comes to the different performance enhancing drugs, but would I be annoyed if somebody got promoted to referee on the football league instead of me knowing that they got through their fitness test using PED's. Hell yeah, I'd be annoyed at 5-4 level nevermind at that level, but as previously stated, it won't get funded at that level.

If you was a fan reading what I just wrote, could I be described as selfish and a counter-argument be made for referees been the best that they're possibly able to for the good of the game. I suppose, but that's ethics for you and I'm a very anti-illegal drugs person.
 
The active ingredient in one of my inhalers is on the banned list according to a poster in the dressing room of a professional team's U18 I was at recently.

If drug testing came in, well it's been nice knowing ya!
 
I hope they don't bring it, I currently have a bad cold and am taking night nurse and I don't know if its on the list of not. Other than that I am clean, other than the bag of blood I take to every game.
 
Not sure how a drowsy cold and flu med would be performance enhancing! ;)

And with the blood bag comment... What type?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top