EFL testing has risen thanks to increased funding

THE ENGLISH Football League have “campaigned” for their players to be drug-tested more often and said it is unfair to blame them, the clubs or players for any perceived testing shortage.

Compared to the year before, the overall number of tests rose last season in the Premier League by almost a half and were up by nearly a quarter in the EFL.

But, in a breakdown of these numbers acquired by the BBC via a Freedom of Information Act request, it has emerged that at least a quarter of EFL players were not tested at all.

In the Premier League, 524 players supplied a total of 1,171 blood and urine samples, an average of more than two per player, although some will have been tested more and others less.

In the EFL, however, there were 1,494 samples collected from 2,047 players, leaving at least 553 who were not tested and, as some players will have been tested more than once, the number not tested at all will be higher.

English football’s testing programme is conducted by UK Anti-Doping on behalf of the Football Association.

A spokesman for the governing body said the programme is “research and intelligenceled” and is “one of the most comprehensive national antidoping programmes in world sport”.

Noting that the number of tests is scheduled to rise from 3,250 last season to 5,000 this campaign, the spokesman said: “Players can be, and are, tested anytime and anywhere, including at home, on a ‘no advance notice’ basis, regardless of whether they have or haven’t been absent from training that day.”

The spokesperson added that the programme is weighted to those playing higher up the ladder and those playing the most minutes. Players taking part in UEFA or FIFA competitions will also be subject to their testing regimes.

An EFL spokesman said testing of their clubs has increased as a result of additional funding and voiced some annoyance that their efforts were being criticised.

Former Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri has been given a six-month doping ban by UEFA, European football’s governing body have confirmed.

The ban follows an investigation into an intravenous hydration treatment the 30-yearold received while on holiday in Los Angeles in December 2016.

UEFA said the six-month ban was awarded on February 22 and is open to appeal. Nasri is currently without a club.