FIFA "finally admitted" it has yet to perform a single "tampering" test on suspicious Russian drug samples but will do so early in '18 in a move that "might yet embarrass" it and 2018 World Cup host Russia, according to Harris & Draper of the London DAILY MAIL. The governing body "became mired in the Russian doping scandal" after the revelation that at least 34 Russian footballers, including the whole 2014 World Cup squad, "were on a list of alleged beneficiaries of Russia’s state doping and cover-ups." Over the past five months, FIFA has said little, but has claimed its investigations "are ongoing and that tests on stored samples had come back negative." Now it has confirmed it is yet to perform "forensic analysis" of sample bottles because, until recently, there had been "no standard methodology to determine whether bottles containing urine for doping analysis bear marks indicating surreptitious opening." The IOC has "now developed such a method," FIFA said. This test "is crucial." Simple retesting "shows whether drugs are present but it is vital to know whether the bottles have been tampered with" -- indicative of "swapping tainted urine for clean urine." FIFA added that it will continue to attempt to gain access to "key Russian whistleblower" Grigory Rodchenkov who, via his lawyer, said that he "has evidence of Russian football doping" (DAILY MAIL, 12/9).
