In a statement the FA said, "The FA prohibits all the doping offences listed in the World Anti Doping Agency code and applies all the sanctions laid down in the code for those offences. Any player who tests positive for a social drug out of competition is charged and subject to a sanction which ordinarily includes a suspension from all football activity for a period of up to six months for a first time offence."
The programme, 'The Truth About Drugs In Football' aired interviews with current and former football league players; Leon Knight and Richard Sadlier and also discussed the alleged drug use of former Birmingham City and Barnsley striker Gary O'Connor and former Cheltenham man Elvis Hammond.
Sadlier discussed in depth how he was given a series of pills to take while he was playing for Championship side Millwall. In a interview dates March 13th in the Independent newspaper Sadlier said, "The nutritionist took samples of my hair to examine, and I was told to weigh and record everything I ate for a week."
"On the basis of both findings, I was given a specific diet of pills and food supplements which I would need to be taken every day. Eight pills with breakfast, a different eight with lunch and a further six after dinner. On many days I would replace my regular meal with a sachet of powder which, once added to water, would have all the nutritional benefits I needed. It was the most disciplined regime I ever experienced."
32 year old Sadlier said that this took place during 2007 whilst a player at Millwall FC, during that season he was at his most prolific in front of goal, scoring seventeen goals. Richard stated in the Channel 4 documentary that he didn't believe the pills he was recommended were illegal.
The documentary suggested that the FA had concealed the names of some players who tested positive for banned substances including so called 'social drugs', and how subsequently their clubs failed to notify new employers of their previous failed tests.
The statement continued, "The FA do not report the name of the player as this offence [taking 'social drugs'] is not a WADA Code offence and privacy allows for the player to undergo any necessary rehabilitation and counselling."
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