Rio Ferdinand has 24 hours left to respond to the Football Association charge over his missed drugs test.
The Manchester United defender has been accused of "failure or refusal to submit to drug testing" after his examination by UK Sport testers did not take place at United's Carrington training ground on September 23. The FA announced the action they were planning to take against the 25-year-old on Wednesday, October 29. But, because their letter outlining the charges did not arrive at Old Trafford until the following morning, Ferdinand's 14 days to reply run until 5pm on Thursday - not Wednesday as previously thought. When the charge was made, a United statement read: "Rio Ferdinand will be responding to the charge and seeking a personal hearing." Both Fifa president Sepp Blatter and World Anti-Doping Agency chairman Dick Pound have criticised the delay in dealing with the case - it is now more than seven weeks since Ferdinand missed his test - so the FA are under pressure to act as soon as they receive his response. The wording of Ferdinand's charge to include "refusal" indicates the FA believe there was a deliberate element to him missing the test. If Ferdinand - Britain's most expensive player at £30million - is unable to convince the FA disciplinary panel he simply forgot UK Sport had asked to test him, a ban is virtually certain. A two-year suspension is the maximum punishment although around three months would be more likely. Ferdinand was controversially omitted from the England squad to face Turkey last month because of missing the test - and he is again absent as Sven-Goran Eriksson's men take on Denmark at his home ground on Sunday. ________________________________________________________________________ Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/tsUolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************** Reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe from the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
