IRFU plays down reports of drug abuse
Posted: Monday October 12, 1998 04:18 PM
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After last week's speculation Murphy held a news conference on Friday to announce that three Irish players had failed drug tests in the past year David Rodgers/Allsport |
DUBLIN, Ireland (Reuters) -- The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) has played down an Irish newspaper report which said the governing body had launched a full-scale investigation into allegations of rampant drug abuse in the sport.
IRFU spokesman John Redmond objected to one story, which said the union planned a probe into "major rugby drug use."
"The IRFU would welcome information of any nature of anything that's untoward in rugby and yes, they would pursue any matter relating to the misuse of drugs," he said Monday.
"But I wouldn't call that launching a full-scale investigation."
The report in the Irish Independent said senior members of the IRFU were convinced they had no option but to formulate a wide-ranging inquiry.
It came a day after columnist and former Irish lock Neil Francis responded to an IRFU call to substantiate his assertion that Irish rugby players took drugs.
Francis wrote in the Sunday Tribune that a "respected surgeon" had treated as many as 10 Irish rugby players for ailments brought about by the use of performance enhancing drugs.
He said he would furnish the surgeon's name to the IRFU in confidence for confirmation of his story, but none of the players could be named due to doctor-patient confidentiality.
"That is in keeping with our request," Redmond said. "But significantly, neither the surgeon nor the [players] were named."
Francis triggered widespread speculation with his October 4 column in response to the untimely death of athlete Florence Griffith Joyner that said Irish players had been taking drugs for several years.
In his most recent piece he wrote: "I could not in all conscience sit back and wait for somebody to die. I thought it best to put my hand up now rather than wait until after the funeral."
The rugby union welcomed the decision by Francis to respond to a request by IRFU president Noel Murphy to provide information to back up his claims.
After last week's speculation Murphy held a news conference on Friday to announce that three Irish players had failed drug tests in the past year.
While one of the players had already been exonerated the other two cases were pending, with one being investigated by an independent tribunal chaired by a former chief justice.
Redmond said the outcome of the tribunals would not be decided in the near future.
"It certainly won't be in the week anyway, that's definite." Redmond said. "It'll run for a while yet because of the nature of it. The prosecution is putting a case together, the defense is putting a case together. It just doesn't happen overnight."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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