Pubdate: 27 Nov, 1999 Source: Guardian Weekly, The (UK) Copyright: Guardian Publications 1999 Contact: 75 Farringdon Road London U.K EC1M 3HQ Fax: 44-171-242-0985 Website: http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/GWeekly/ Author: Duncan Mackay MOORCROFT SET TO THROW IN TOWEL ON DRUG CASES David Moorcroft, the chief executive of UK Athletics, has warned that the sport in Britain may soon not be able to afford to prosecute positive drugs tests as a result of the costs incurred in this year's high-profile cases involving Linford Christie and Dougie Walker. Moorcroft fears that if UK Athletics continues to haemorrhage funds in the manner it has this year then it will go the way of its predecessor, the British Athletic Federation, which was forced into administration in 1997 with debts of nearly pounds 2m mainly caused by the legal costs involved in the Diane Modahl affair. "Earlier this year we set a ceiling on what we could afford to spend on doping issues and we've exceeded it already," said Moorcroft. "We are not insolvent yet but unless we keep a lid on our expenditure we may well reach that position. We will make it through this year but part of the reason for that is because we are not investing in things we would like to, such as development. An option we have in the future is to say we can no longer afford to deal with these issues and say to the International Amateur Athletic Federation that, reluctantly, we are unable to do anything. "But even if we did decide to pass doping cases to the IAAF, we've still to deal with the current issues which could go on for years. It illustrates the almost impossible position governing bodies are in when they are dealing with doping." British athletics has been hit by a spate of positive drug tests during the past 12 months. Yet the fact that UK Athletics has cleared Walker, Christie and Gary Cadogan of deliberately ingesting the anabolic steroid nandrolone has not saved them from the threat of potentially crippling costs. The decision by the IAAF to refer all cases to arbitration means UK Athletics could soon be facing a bill in the region of pounds 500,000 after the world governing body last week agreed to a "losing-party-pays" system. Currently, the IAAF pays all costs when a dispute with a national body is referred to arbitration but in the future the loser is to bear the costs, often in excess of pounds 150,000 for each case. "It's probably quite an effective way of protecting their system," said Moorcroft. "Even if people are innocent they will figure they cannot afford to run the risk of not winning." Moorcroft remains convinced that the verdicts clearing Walker, Christie and Cadogan were correct but he does not believe the IAAF will endorse the decision to clear them. The arbitration panel, hand picked by the IAAF, is notorious for its hard-line stance, only once finding in the athlete's favour. "The IAAF is very concerned about protecting its system," said Moorcroft. "If UK Athletics' primary concern was to protect the system then we would have put disciplinary panels in place to ensure they came back with guilty verdicts. "That is probably the best way of protecting the system but not necessarily the right way. In the doping system one of the weaknesses is that somebody being cleared prejudices the whole structure." This has been the worst year in the history of British athletics for drug scandals. In addition to the three who have tested positive for nandrolone, there are three other cases involving British internationals. Carl Myerscough, the shot-putter who tested positive for a cocktail of banned drugs, faced a disciplinary panel yesterday and a decision is expected early next week; Paul Edwards, also shot-putter, is still contesting a positive test from 1997; and an unnamed athlete is under the threat of a two-year ban after testing positive for the anabolic steroid stanolozol earlier this season. The fact that UK Athletics still has to hand out a ban to anyone has led to suggestions in the corridors of power in Monte Carlo that Britain has gone soft on drugs. It is an accusation rejected by Moorcroft. "In being one of the relatively few countries who do rigorous out-of-competition testing we are showing we are serious," he said. "British athletes can be tested anywhere abroad. There are only nine countries in the IAAF who do out-of-competition testing so you could say there are another 200 who are soft on drugs." Moorcroft will have to defend his record this weekend when more than 300 officials from clubs across Britain will gather in Manchester for the first ever annual UK Athletics Congress. How he deals with the doping issue over the next 12 months will determine whether the congress is staged again next year. - --- MAP posted-by: Thunder