Drug-Shamed Davids Opens Legal Proceedings Against Blatter
THE HAGUE, Aug 11 (AFP) Dutch and Juventus midfielder Edgar Davids has
opened legal proceedings which he hopes will lead to a public apology from
FIFA president Sepp Blatter, Dutch agency ANP reported Saturday.
Davids, who was suspended by the game's world governing body last May after
testing positive for the banned anabolic nandrolone, is asking for an
apology after accusations the FIFA president made on August 1.
Blatter said on Dutch television that Davids' hematocrit (red blood cell)
level in his sample was one of the highest he had ever seen - a claim which
Davids found damaging. According to the player's lawyer, it would be only
fair for Blatter to make his apology on television.
"People are inclined to believe that there's actually more to this affair
after what the president of FIFA claims," said Davids' lawyer. He added:
"Blatter made these accusations on television. It would be good if he made
the apology on television too."
A representative for Blatter has already sent a letter to Davids in which he
affirms the FIFA president's "regret" at having made the claims - a gesture
which Davids has roundly rejected.
An Amsterdam judge is set to fix a date for the hearing - at which Blatter
will be expected to attend - within the next week.
The anti-doping committee of Italy's Olympic Committee (CONI) called earlier
this month for Davids to be banned for eight months and that he be fined 200
million lire (90,700 dollars).
Davids continues to protest his innocence and has said he will fight the ban
through the courts.
Davids' teammate in the Dutch international team, Barcelona's Frank de Boer,
had his suspension for doping offences slashed last month after European
football's governing body UEFA ruled de Boer had probably ingested
nandrolone from contaminated food supplements. The 31-year-old De Boer had
originally been banned for 12 months but his ban will now end on August 31.
