Sport 05-12-2003 Euro 2004 Ban Looms For Rio who: Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand what: Sees his Euro 2004 chances fade as FIFA steps into drug row where: Old Trafford, MANCHESTER when: Yesterday snippet: "What began as a moment of forgetfulness, according to Rio Ferdinand, had by yesterday become a cause célèbre among the most powerful men in football," says today`s Times, "as Sepp Blatter, the president of Fifa, and Michel Platini, one of his senior advisers, raised the stakes over the Manchester United defender`s failure to take a drugs test." While football`s big hitters began a slanging match over drugs procedures, the message for the England centre half was that, "if the Football Association does not punish him severely, the world governing body might." The crux of the issue, says The Independent, is that Mr Blatter "is furious both at the delay and that Ferdinand has continued to play" since failing to take a routine drug test 11 weeks ago on 23 September. The Sun yesterday watched the Fifa president describe the FA and Manchester United as amateurs during a "15-minute diatribe" that "stunned the Congress Hall in Frankfurt where he was speaking ahead of today`s World Cup 2006 draw." The Guardian thinks Mr Blatter is throwing his weight around during the middle of a presidential term that will not be contested for four years, but concedes that he does have a point when he says the FA`s "lethargic process is also potentially unreasonable for a footballer under suspicion". "If he is innocent then declare him innocent and do it immediately," said the president. "We need professional leaders in professional football," he said. "We cannot deal with volunteers." French football legend Michel Platini couldn`t resist getting involved, says The Sun, suggesting that Ferdinand "would have been locked up had he been French." Locked up or not, "Ferdinand is already likely to be banned until April and possibly later if Manchester United appeal against the FA`s decision," meaning it may be a quiet summer next year for one of England`s first choice defenders. [... more]

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