From the Independent:
The Football Association can offer "no guarantee" that Rio Ferdinand's case will finally be settled this week, almost three months after he failed to take a routine drugs test. The Manchester United defender appears before a three-man tribunal at Bolton's Reebok Stadium on Thursday and Friday. Although the FA, widely criticised for the snail's pace of disciplinary procedures, hope to wrap up the matter within two days, a spokesman admitted yesterday that any verdict would not necessarily be announced by Friday evening. Even if it is, the player would then have 14 days in which to appeal - a prerogative that regularly allows cases to drag on.
The case will be heard by Barry Bright, chairman of the FA's disciplinary committee, and two other tribunal members, who are not being named but are understood to be specialists in doping cases. The FA are keen to emphasise the independence of these officials, who will not have heard or seen any of the evidence until Thursday morning. The fact is, however, that the case has received widespread publicity and comment - much of which, were it a court case, would amount to contempt. In addition, another department of the FA has already imposed a punishment by banning Ferdinand from the England team for matches against Turkey and Denmark.
United have to hope that tribunal members will have the strength of character to resist all the outside pressure being exerted by organisations like Fifa, the world football governing body, and Wada, the anti-doping agency. Dick Pound, the latter's chairman, added to the steady drip of accusation last week when he said of Ferdinand: "You don't forget something that important." Wada insist that not taking a test for any reason should be treated in exactly the same way as failing one, and incur an automatic two-year ban.
And a bit here from The Sunday Times:
"The standard strategy for defence is to delay, delay, delay," Pound told The Sunday Times. "The FA was somewhat uncomfortable initially, but it has been encouraged by Fifa to get on with it and to apply the rules.
"I would like to think United would have been just as interested in drug-free sport and everything that goes with it as the FA and Fifa."
Asked whether he felt United were simply protecting their prized asset, Pound added: "That’s got to be a huge element in it." But he also had harsh words for Ferdinand, saying he couldn’t blame club officials, such as doctor Mike Stone, for failing to make sure the defender gave a sample to testers.
"This is a well-known player who knows perfectly well that when you are called to provide a sample, this is not something you can forget," Pound said. "He is a big boy and he knows the rules. It’s his personal responsibility to show up when he is asked. For him to go sobbing to the FA saying it’s his club’s fault is a bit thin, really."
Ferdinand’s defence is expected to hinge on claims that drug-testers from UK Sport, the agency responsible for anti-doping, left United’s training ground about half an hour after he had phoned to say he was coming back. However, the FA and UK Sport will argue that the call was not returned until much later, long after the testers had left. The saga has caused friction between the FA and United over the way Ferdinand was dropped from the England side that faced Turkey in October.