Sport Could Still Be Left Out of Games

An old dispute is leading to new problems for soccer which, in a worst-case scenario, may be left out of this summer’s Olympic Games if FIFA, the sport’s governing body, and the World Anti-Doping Agency do not come to an accord.

In February, the organizations reached a “cooperative agreement” that called for all cases to be assessed individually. FIFA also wanted professional soccer players to be waived from telling drug testers their address and contact information, for national associations to be in charge instead of WADA and for WADA to agree not to appeal FIFA decisions.

WADA wants to retain its right to appeal decisions on doping penalties made by FIFA. As such, WADA is not willing to sign off completely on the 3-month-old deal.

“We cannot make exceptions for FIFA,” WADA President Dick Pound told Associated Press.

“It’s up to them to decide whether they want to sign the code the way it is. If they want clarifications or a reminder of what they understand to be the code, they are free to draw that up. But the point of a unified code is not entering into separate deals with everyone.”

Should FIFA refuse to sign the accord with WADA and the International Olympic Committee on Friday at FIFA’s Centennial Congress in Paris -- Pound, FIFA President “Sepp” Blatter and IOC head Jacques Rogge are scheduled to meet there while Pound and Rogge were to meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Monday to discuss the situation -- soccer could be left out of the Olympics.

Insiders say that’s unlikely to happen, but the IOC has said that any federation that does not sign the code will not be allowed to compete in Athens.

Still, Blatter was taking a positive approach.

“I cannot imagine that football will not be part of the Olympic Games in Athens this summer,” Blatter said, according to Reuters.

Because WADA’s anti-doping code imposes an automatic two-year ban for doping offenses, FIFA is one of two major Olympic federations, along with the International Cycling Union, to have refused to sign the code.

“The position is clear. FIFA still wants to sign the agreement and

“But now, as far as we are concerned, from what Dick Pound has said, WADA [has] moved back on their position regarding individual case management to the position they were taking 18 months or two years ago.

“We are due to sign the agreement ... and if this does not happen it will be a great opportunity missed. It is difficult to understand why WADA [has] taken this position again.”

A Real Bummer?

With its late-season free fall in the Spanish first division, third-place Real Madrid is contemplating canceling preseason tours of the United States and Asia, especially if its worst league run forces it to qualify for Europe’s Champions League in August. Teams that finish third and fourth must win qualifiers to reach the event.

“[That would] cut short the players’ vacation,” Real Madrid sports director Jorge Valdano told reporters. “That’s a problem for next season.”

It could also be a problem for Major League Soccer.

MLS last week rescheduled its All-Star game to July 31, and the U.S. league hopes to pit an all-star team against Real Madrid in New England on that day.

Quick Passes

Embattled Real Madrid Coach Carlos Queiroz may be replaced with Jose Antonio Camacho a day after the season ends, El Mundo newspaper reported.... According to Kicker magazine, the Ottmar Hitzfeld era at Bayern Munich will come to a conclusion and Felix Magath will take over as coach.

-- Compiled by Paul Gutierrez