Desperate Holland Fight Davids Ban
Wednesday 6th June 2001
The Dutch football federation (KNVB) are set to launch an appeal against Fifa's decision to ban Edgar Davids from international matches. "We know for certain that Fifa hasn't acted correctly," said KNVB's general director Harry Been.
Davids watched from the stands as Holland beat Estonia 4-2 in a World Cup qualifier last Saturday.
The Juventus midfielder was told by Fifa that he would be sidelined only two days before the game, after testing positive for nandrolone after a Serie A game. The decision by the world football federation followed a provisional suspension by the Italian federation.
But the KNVB believe Fifa have gone about it in the wrong way. "There were mistakes made by Fifa," Been told the Dutch press agency ANP. "A special committee of the executive board wrote to us to say that Davids is suspended for all international games because he is sentenced in Italy. However, he has only been provisionally suspended."
"The letter also stated that an appeal wasn't possible. We can't live with that," Been added.
"We will certainly take further steps. We could go to TAS, the sports tribunal of the International Olympic Committee, but we don't know whether Fifa will acknowledge this. We will go to a civil judge otherwise."
