Just pondering this on the way to work after all the drama surrounding the IAAF and the athletics doping issues.

Does doping help a footballer in many ways or is it less about physical performance and more about the skill of the individual?

As Russia 2018 is coming up and they have since been slammed for a culture of doping would it shine a light on similar situations with footballers?

-PB

Definitely could. Steroids and HGH allow muscles to heal faster.

Blood doping is also an issue. Imagine one team had artificially increased red blood cells (allowing more oxygen to be carried through the blood) in comparison to one team that hadn't? Much higher endurance capabilities.

Guess that would contribute a lot come extra time and so forth (playing a full 120 minutes).

-PB

Warning: Controversial opinion ahead.

This is a perfect example of where steroids should be allowed under controlled circumstances. It seems ridiculous that a player, who relies on playing to make a living, has to sit out longer than is completely necessary when injured because these drugs are seen as illegal.

A non-professional may be prescribed certain drugs to help them heal quicker but a professional sportsman can not.

I can't see why, under limited circumstances, they can't have access to certain steroids.

Get a script, use them under supervision and then institute a strict testing regime once they're back playing to ensure they're still not on them.

Seems weird to withhold something that could make you better quicker.

I'm not saying carte blanche steroid use. Just in certain circumstances.




Edited by munrubenmuz: 13/11/2015 11:02:51 AM

Yes, most definitely.

Getting less tired due to blood doping/EPO use makes it easier to maintain skill levels during the full game
Getting less tired due to blood doping/EPO use makes it possible to train longer meaning players can get fitter and also practice skills for longer meaning they have better honed skills.

I would be shocked if large number of players in the top leagues are not something.

It's an interesting point, I wonder if anyone ever thought about a restriction of trade lawsuit; that no access to the healing drugs lengthens the time they have away from their job.

Russians back to their old Soviet era tricks

I guess the problem of making them legal will make it easier for dodgy people to game the tests or put doubt on the results of a positive test.

At the moment there is a flat ban on them but people still manage to wriggle suspensions/bans.
Wouldn't it be much easier to make excuses if players had only slightly higher than expected test results?

edit: For the record I'm not too fussed if they do make them legal. There are already so many things that pro athletes have access to that everyone else doesn't that the whole 'poor athletes won't be able to afford them' point is moot.

Edited by karta: 13/11/2015 04:03:12 PM

any chance Russia will be banned from the 2018 World Cup? :)

Some interesting points, most of these drugs were developed for medical purposes so why shouldn't they be used to help athletes recover from injury?

Doping would be of benefit to certain types of footballers but we are lucky in that the skill level in our game limits the benefit of performance enhancing drugs. My favourite player ever was Matt LeTissier, he was fat, slow, unfit and he could have taken every drug in the world and it wouldn't have made any difference. What he did have was incredible skill, especially the way he could shoot. No drug will ever be able to recreate what he could do.

Drugs can have various positive (and negative) effects, so the right player on the 'right' drugs can definitely improve.

A fullback could massively benefit from certain drugs like EPO, to help improve their ability to shuttle up and down the pitch for an entire game. Drugs don't even neccessarily have to be physically performance enhancing. Stuff like Modnafil or even basic caffeine can improve mental response while fatigued.