da pinup bet： It’s the moment the footballing world has been waiting for during the past couple of days – was Mamadou Sakho going to get banned or not?
da leao： For those who don’t know what happened, Sakho was caught out in a drugs test when his side played Manchester Untied in the Europa League, with his sample testing positive for a banned fat-burning substance.
And when the verdict came through that the French defender was going to be banned for the next thirty days – pending a longer sentence – the response was entirely mixed. Some people were angry, as you would expect. These players are paid hundreds of thousands of pounds a week, so you’d think they could stay in shape without illegal help. Some were frustrated, as without Sakho at such a crucial stage of the season, the club’s fortunes are at risk.
But the overriding opinion from the entirety of the footballing community was downright disappointment. Doping is a serious, serious crime and fortunately enough, we don’t see it in football as much as we potentially could. No-one wants to see it in the game, because it’s downright cheating. Gaining an advantage over your fellow professionals by using drugs is an extremely dangerous game to play, and whether or not Sakho is banned for the mooted two years+ many are suggesting, he’s going to face a tough time when, or even if, he does come back.
Had Sakho scored a decisive goal in this fixture, this could have been taken to a whole other level. But when Sakho banged in a vital equaliser against Borussia Dortmund in the next round of the tournament, was he playing outside of the rules?
There is also the other side of the argument: what Sakho has allegedly done isn’t improving his genuine footballing ability. Of course it helps him recover and potentially improves his speed, but did that fat-burning drug improve his ability to score in that game against Dortmund?
Another angle we must consider in this case is just how much Liverpool themselves knew about Sakho’s potential offence. Whilst there is nothing to suggest the club had encouraged this behaviour, the truth is is yet to be outed. However, Liverpool will now have to improve their efforts on education and monitoring.
Any involvement with the club directly is unlikely, the shortcuts that players take away from the stadium are largely out of their hands.
Should Liverpool themselves be punished for Sakho’s misdemeanour? The club acted swiftly to remove the player from first-team duty, but does a lack of actual club punishment mean that they actually accept doping? Not in a literal sense no, but does more need to be done to encourage clubs to step up their efforts and make sure they know exactly who on their roster may be doping.
It’s going to be a long way back for Sakho now, who has at times this season looked fantastic. There will be more inquiries but the Frenchman may have ruined it for good.
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