Friday August 09, 2013
Kaieteur News
Page 41
Did Germany cheat the world... including when they beat England in 1970 World Cup? Explosive report claims decades of doping By Jonathan McEvoy Two World Wars and two World Cups, doo-da — as the politically incorrect ditty England fans sing doesn’t quite go. But perhaps it should after devastating evidence emerged of a state-run doping programme that implicates the West Germans in cheating in their win over the finest England football team to leave these shores — in the World Cup quarter-final at Mexico 1970. Our World Cup-winning heroes, led by Bobby Moore at the peak of his immaculate career and supplemented by the likes of Terry Cooper, Alan Mullery and Colin Bell, led 2-0 in that famous match. But Germany, admittedly helped by Alf Ramsey’s decision to take off Bobby Charlton to protect him for later matches, fought back to win 3-2. Doubts over doping by German teams stretch from the 1950s to the 1990s after research by Berlin’s Humboldt University
suggested the country’s taxpayers funded the systematic drugs programme. It is even alleged that three unnamed West German players who lost 4-2 to England in the World Cup final at Wembley in 1966 were on the banned stimulant ephedrine. The report says: ‘The hitherto unknown letter from FIFA official Dr Mihailo Andrejevic informs the President of the German athletics federation, Dr Max Danz, that in doping tests conducted by FIFA at the end of the 1966 World Cup, three players of the German team had “slight traces” of ephedrine.’ FIFA said last year, when the issue surfaced, that it had
no knowledge of the letter. Ephedrine can act as a decongestant for head colds and last night the German federation denied they had ever been involved in drug cheating. The report also implicated the 1954 West German team which unexpectedly beat the
Dr Joseph Keul Magical Magyars of Hungary 3-2 in the World Cup final, known as the Miracle of Berne. It is alleged the players were not injected with Vitamin B — as was long suspected — but with Pervitin, an amphetamine-based drug developed by Nazi scientists to make soldiers fight longer
Make match-fixing a crime to deter culprits – Dravid (Reuters) - Fixing cricket matches must be made a criminal offence to strike fear into the hearts of potential offenders, according to former India skipper Rahul Dravid. A stylish batsman renowned for his impeccable integrity, Dravid has had the misfortune of captaining a Rajasthan Royals team embroiled in a major spotfixing scandal that tainted this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 competition. Former test bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and two of his Royals team mates were arrested by Delhi Police in May, the trio accused of taking money to concede a fixed number of runs in the sixth edition of the lucrative tournament. The players deny any wrongdoing and have been released on bail but the scandal has sparked nationwide outrage and prompted the law ministry to draft a new bill to deal with cheating in sport after admitting existing legislation was inadequate. Dravid, who has been named as a witness in the case against the cricketers, said merely educating players of the perils of match-fixing was not enough.
Rahul Dravid “...(we have to) police it and have the right laws and ensure that people, when they indulge in these kind of activities, are actually punished,” Dravid said in an interview published on the Cricinfo website (www.espncricinfo.com). “People must see that there are consequences to your actions. That will create fear for people,” said the 40year-old Dravid, who quit test
cricket last year after scoring more than 13,000 runs in 164 matches. Dravid added that some lessons could be learned from the high-profile doping incidents that have blighted cycling. “The only people cyclists were scared of was not the testers, not the (cycling) authority... they were scared of the police. You read all the articles, the only guys they were scared of was the police and (the threat of) going to jail. “So the only way that people are going to get that fear is if they know the consequences to these actions and the law that will come into play. It has got to be a criminal offence.” Dravid went on to suggest that administrators should work more closely with police to restore cricket’s credibility. “So many fans and so many people care deeply about this game and it’s because of these fans and people we are who we are as cricketers. ”Administrators are there because of the fans and the cricketers, to run this game. So I think that credibility of a game in the eyes of the public is extremely important,” Dravid said.
and harder. The drug — also called ‘panzer chocolate’ — was still widely available from supplies manufactured during the Second World War. All the players were given their doses with a shared syringe. Only a small number, including Alfred Pfaff, who went on to Captain Eintracht Frankfurt’s 1960 European Cup finalists, declined the injections. Richard Herrmann, a winger, died of cirrhosis eight years later, aged 39. The report, entitled Doping in Germany from 1950 to Today, also alleges ‘forbidden infusions’ were given to another World Cupwinning squad — the 1974 side led by the great Franz Beckenbauer. This sordid tale
of deception — ranging from football across all Olympic sports — shows that the true horror of Cold War Germany’s industrial-scale doping was not confined to the East. The 800-page document reveals senior politicians, doctors and officials were involved in the fraud. The Interior Minister provided the money for research and administration of the illicit medication. The sorry revelations will not come as a total surprise in the world of athletics, given West Germany’s obsession with matching the success of their rivals on the other side of the Wall. A senior sports administrator is quoted as
saying ahead of the 1972 Munich Olympics that ‘one thing matters above all else — medals’. However, the relatively advanced nature of the doping, which encompassed early growth hormone drugs and EPO as well as stimulants and steroids, is more sinister than previously imagined. Still, the scale of the operation is not comparable with the East Germans’ programme. The study says Dr Joseph Keul, head of the West German Olympic team’s doctors, who died in 2000, played a key role. In his lifetime he fought to get anabolic steroids removed from a banned drugs list. The human cost of the programme is highlighted by Birgit Dressel, a leading heptathlete, who died of
multiple organ failure in 1987, aged 26. An autopsy sh owed traces of 101 medicines in her body. The official report into her death concluded she died ‘due to unknown reasons’ but German doping expert Werner Franke said anabolic doping was a cause. The final part of the study, examining drug use since 1990, has been suppressed. But the report quotes a senior sports federation official in the early 1990s as saying: ‘Coaches always told me that, if you don’t take anything, you will not become something. Anyone who
became something was taking it (testosterone).’ The study was commissioned in 2008 by German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) and Federal Institute of Sport Science. On Monday DOSB President Thomas Bach, who is standing for the IOC Presidency, said: ‘This is a good day for the fight against doping. A commission will now evaluate the report and give recommendations with regard to the tasks as well as about the future
improvements of the fight against doping. ‘I am confident we can reach our goals to have full knowledge about the past and learn the lessons for the future. This will strengthen our zero-tolerance policy.’ For many, however, it will further reduce the credibility of sport. (Mail Online)
Jamaica, T&T take early lead in Super50 St George’s, Grenada – Reigning champions Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are perched atop the points table after two rounds of the West Indies Cricket Board Women’s Super50 Tournament being played in Grenada. Jamaica are on 10 points and top Group A while Trinidad and Tobago are on 9 points at the helm in Group B. Guyana (5 points) are in the number two position behind Jamaica and over in Group B, Barbados (5 points, 2.18 run rate) holds the second slot alongside St Vincent and the Grenadines (5 points) but with the latter having an inferior run rate (-0.102). Jamaica registered wins over St Lucia and Guyana while T&T beat the Bajans
and hosts Grenada. So far June Ogle (104) of Guyana and Deandra Dottin (103) have notched centuries. Veterans Julianna Nero (86 & 54) and Pam Levine (58 & 55) have started well with back-to-back half centuries. Also making their mark with the bat were Jamaica’s Stafanie Taylor (94), Guyana’s Shemaine Campbelle (85), Grenada’s Afy Fletcher (62), T&T’s Britney Cooper (61*) and Pearl Ettienne (52) of Dominica. Starring with the ball to date have been Trinidad and Tobago’s seasoned all rounder Stacy-Ann King who picked up 5 for 18 against St Vincent and the Grenadines
while her teammate Kirbyina Alexander grabbed 5 for 38 against Barbados. St Lucian Nicole St. Prix (5 for 36 v Dominica) is the only other bowler to have taken a five wicket haul. Barbados’ 303 against Grenada is the highest score thus far following by Guyana’s 268 for 3 (v Dominica) and Jamaica’s 233 (v Guyana). The third and final preliminary round will be played today before the four semi-finalists are decided. The Super50 semi finals will be played on August 11 and the final is slated for August 14. The Twenty20 competition begins on August 16th and concludes on August 22nd.