Kenny’s medical blunder is so unnecessary (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Kenny’s medical blunder is so unnecessary

9:38am Friday 11th September 2009

• Print
• Email

The Paddy Kenny episode is another reminder that footballers must learn to think.

Sheffield United’s goalkeeper has not been slapped with a nine-month ban for being a serial drugs cheat.

He has copped the punishment for his own stupidity. Just like Danny Cadamarteri when his City career finished in the same fashion.

When will these players learn?

Downing the “wrong” type of cough medicine does not put Kenny in the same bracket as Adrian Mutu, the former Chelsea striker who was caught with cocaine in his system.

But he still broke the rules; the strict rules which state that players are not allowed to take certain stimulants.

In Kenny’s case, and Cadamarteri three years ago, irregular levels of ephedrine were found to be in his system.

The cause was nothing seedy. He was suffering from a bad cold and bought a remedy from the local chemists that had been recommended by his missus.

It was something he had never used before – and that should have set the alarm bells ringing. The list of football’s banned substances stretches a lot further than cocaine and crack.

A simple call to the club’s medical staff would have confirmed whether the ingredients were safe to take.

We’re talking about an experienced player here; one who must have been well aware of football’s recent crackdown on stimulants. Many dressing rooms have the updated list stuck on the wall.

On the face of it, the former Avenue keeper’s ban seems very harsh. He will effectively miss the rest of the season and is not even allowed to train in that time.

But that’s the price you pay for ignorance – and until it finally sinks in, there will be others who will catch far more than a cold from the medicine cabinet.