Football bosses have no plans to introduce drug testing on referees and match officials.
There have been calls for the PGMOL to bring in mandatory testing of Premier League referees in the wake of the David Coote controversy. Coote has been suspended pending an investigation, after videos of him allegedly snorting a white powder were leaked online.
The public’s faith and trust in referees has slumped to an all-time low following the situation with Coote. But football authorities including FIFA, UEFA, Premier League and the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) have no desire to introduce mandatory drug testing for referees.
A PGMOL source said: “We are not aware of plans to introduce testing of referees, and will continue to adhere to WADA rules.”
Under current WADA rules, there is no requirement for referees to be drug tested. It’s argued that performance enhancing drugs like cocaine would not affect an official’s performance during matches. Although critics have countered this by stating it would be ethically and morally wrong for a referee to be under the influence of drugs while in the workplace.
(Image: Getty Images)
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Back in 2000, former top flight referee Keith Hackett put forward the idea of drug testing officials. But it was ruled out due to the risk of it causing bad publicity.
The PGMOL have rallied round Coote, 42, whose career has been left in ruins following a series of bombshell revelations about his private life.
A PGMOL spokesperson said: “David’s welfare continues to be of the utmost importance to us and we are committed to providing him with the ongoing support he needs through this period. We are not in a position to comment further at this stage.”