Palios defends Ferdinand decision
LONDON, England -- The English Football Association's chief executive Mark Palios has mounted a stout defence of the eight month ban handed out to Rio Ferdinand for missing a drugs test.
The punishment, which if it stands after appeal will mean the England defender missing Euro 2004, was branded "savage and unprecedented" by his club, Manchester United.
But Palios told the The News of the World: "After this case, I don't think any club will allow a player to miss a drugs test again.
"And if a bus runs over me tomorrow and that is all we ever achieve then it was worth it for that."
He added: "I didn't feel pleased or vindicated. I actually felt quite sad because I know, up until now, football has been the loser.
"So I'm not looking to rub peoples' noses in it or say 'I told you so'. "But if there is a positive in what has been a difficult year it is that we are at last on the right road."
He also defended the FA's controversial decision to leave Ferdinand out of the England squad which played Turkey in October, a move that almost led to Ferdinand's team-mates calling a strike.
"I hope it's now understood that had we picked Rio for the Turkey game, the Association and the England team would have been compromised."
Ferdinand's ban for missing the test on September 23 starts on January 12, although club officials have indicated they intend to lodge an appeal.
