EXPOSE THE PREM DOPES
Albion chief Pulis calls on FA to name players who fail drug tests
TONY PULIS has called on the Football Association to stop protecting players who fail drug tests.
The West Brom boss was angered by claims from Stoke counterpart Mark Hughes and former Baggies star Saido Berahino that they did not know why the striker was prevented from playing before he moved to the Potteries.
Pulis insists Albion told Stoke that Berahino was banned by the FA for eight weeks for taking a banned recreational substance – MDMA, found in the Class A drug ecstasy – before buying him for £12million in the transfer window.
The row boiled over when news of the ban emerged two days before the clubs met at the Hawthorns last weekend and the managers refused to shake hands after the game.
The game’s ruling body has a policy of not disclosing names of players who test positive for recreational drugs in the hope of re-educating and rehabilitating them.
Asked if it would help if the FA made such cases public, Pulis (right) said: “Of course it would.
“It’s a good question, really. It’s that line between personal and public, and that’s for others to decide.
“The disappointing thing was Saido saying how disappointed he was he never played, and then Hughes (left) saying the same thing. “Both knew he had been suspended.
“That was most probably what irked our chairman John Williams more than anything, because we were really honest.”
Pulis, who takes his side to West Ham today, added: “There was never, ever going to be a deal done with Stoke without this club telling them Saido had been caught taking drugs.”
After the game, which West Brom won 1-0, Stoke players Ryan Shawcross and Charlie Adam pointed the finger squarely at Albion for leaking the story about the ban.