GETTING TOUGH ON DRUGS

Assuming he answers his phone, Rio Ferdinand can expect to receive an unwelcome call from the Football Association late tomorrow charging him with misconduct for missing that drugs test. In disciplining the Manchester United defender, Soho Square must implement a tough seven-step plan to tackle the immediate and long-term consequences of a saga that has deeply embarrassed English football:

Step One: Ban Ferdinand for three months. Such concerned and commercially-conscious employers as United will rail against this sentence, scrambling their lawyers to protect a £30 million investment, but they need to know that the hawks circling parts of Soho Square seek an even lengthier exile. The credibility of the governing body's anti-doping programme depends on Ferdinand being punished. A winter in the wilderness will not kill Ferdinand's season, let alone his career.

Step Two: speed up the disciplinary process.
 

Step Three: More players should be tested more often.

Step Four: Tighten the dope-testing procedure.

Step Five: Remove the sanction-making out of the hands of amateurs.

Step Six: Consult the players more. All the changes to the anti-doping programme planned by Mark Palios, the FA's determined new chief executive, must be made in conjunction with the players, most of whom would accept the need for increased testing to improve their profession's image. There is probably more sense talked about football over the Neville family's Sunday lunch than in many FA meetings. Palios should tap into the England brains-trust headed by Gary Neville rather than alienating it.

Step Seven: Remove the personalities from the drama. Much of the Ferdinand saga has resembled a duel between Palios and Gordon Taylor of the Professional Footballers' Association. The strident stance taking in the Ferdinand case helps no one. Applying these steps might ensure the sorry saga is not repeated.