They sail today for Istanbul
While one of them must stay at home
He failed to do things by the book
But does the punishment match the crime?
Well, that’s my contribution to National Poetry Day, anyway. The whole Rio Ferdinand affair is becoming more complicated by the hour, and I’m not entirely sure I know what to think.
It’s clear that Ferdinand was initially in the wrong. By missing his drug test, he risked (albeit in a small way) jeopardising the necessary atmosphere of mutual trust that a rigorous testing system can maintain around modern sports. And at that point, preventing him from joining the squad was the FA’s only option. Keeping quiet would have been too risky… imagine if Ferdinand had subsequently been found guilty of drug offences, having played in an England victory against Turkey.
However, it seems that, on realising his error, Ferdinand offered to take the test later that day and indeed did take (and pass) a test the next day. Given this, the FA’s hasty response seems particularly heavy-handed. Withdrawal would have been justifiable in the light of a positive drug test, but in terms of the drug laws, no harm had been done. Ferdinand was still guilty of a minor behavioural offence, for which a fine would surely have been appropriate punishment.
The whole strike threat, I think, was something of a red herring. I doubt that the members of the Players’ Committee (such as David Beckham and Gary Neville) would ever seriously have carried out their threats; instead, the suggestion of a boycott seems to have increased the feeling of camaraderie within the squad. Nonetheless, the press have taken the very question of a strike as the signal for a ludicrous display of petulance. To see the high wages of top players being criticised by the tabloid media, who played a large part in creating the big business side of modern football, is particularly pathetic.