This time he did not forget. With an identity tag around his neck and a plentiful supply of water bottles to hand to prevent dehydration, Rio Ferdinand waited patiently for his turn to provide a urine sample. The date was June 21, 2002, the venue Shizuoka, Japan.
In the latest twist to the incredible chain of events that brought English football to the brink of one of its gravest crises, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that the player at the centre of last week's controversy was a willing participant in a FIFA television broadcast during the World Cup aimed at educating the public about the importance of doping control.
Ferdinand, whose non-appearance for a training ground drug-test on Sept 23 leaves his future hanging in the balance when he appears before the Football Association's compliance unit at Soho Square tomorrow, joined England World Cup team-mate Danny Mills and Brazilians Ronaldinho and Cafu in a broadcast seen around the world but never shown in this country, from inside the doping control room just minutes after England's 2-1 quarter-final defeat last year.
His willingness to co-operate with the film makes his failure to report for a dope test at Manchester United's training ground all the more bewildering. It proves that he is far from naive when it comes to providing samples to drug testers.