By Andrew Warshaw
January 15 – Rocked by embarrassing allegations of negligence at the most prestigious event in its calendar, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has hit back at claims by Jordan that they botched a doping test on striker Ahmad Hayel during the Asian Cup in Australia.
The Jordanians lodged a formal protest claiming a random dope test which went badly wrong and to be abandoned resulted in Hayel falling seriously ill.
They blamed the AFC’s decision to only provide untreated water, rather than any liquids with electrolytes which help rehydration, for Hayel’s condition.
But the AFC have rejected the claims, saying the test “was conducted as per the AFC Anti-Doping Regulations”.
Medical officer Dr Paisal Chantarapitak, who conducted the contentious test, insisted the facilities and equipments provided were “world-class”.
“As per the procedure, the AFC Medical Officer always recommends players selected for doping control to drink water as per normal practice, especially for the player who has played for 90 minutes,” he said. “It is at the player’s discretion to follow the recommendation or not. The player is not forced to drink plenty of water in short time. The assistant team doctor of [the] Jordan national team was present during the entire doping procedure.”
Nevertheless, Jordan coach Ray Wilkins, the former England midfielder, said the experienced Hayel would definitely miss Jordan’s second Group D match against Palestine in Melbourne on Friday and was a doubt for the third and final clash against Japan.
“He lost so much fluid the other night when he played and we were very, very concerned as to his wellbeing,” Wilkins told reporters. “You don’t only lose water (playing), you lose salts, you lose electrolytes and we must replace them after the game.”
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