Football World Cup: Eight cases of clenbuterol in Tunisia

This was a very needed World Cup for Tunisia. The team only took part briefly in the preliminary round, as a beating boy for Sweden (1:5), Japan (0:4) and the Netherlands (1:3). After the terrible opening match, national coach Sabri Lamouchi was fired, his successor Hervé Renard managed the subsequent defeats and then also resigned after 18 days in office. It remains to be seen whether the two are vegetarians, but what is certain is that they had serious beef eaters in their squad: eight players tested positive for clenbuterol at the World Cup. This is a muscle-building doping substance, popular in fitness studios, and Clenbuterol is used medically as an asthma treatment. And it could now be said that the Tunisian whipping boys could have used more muscle and more air at the World Cup.

Team Tunisia was stationed in Monterrey, Mexico. The fact that the revelation of the clenbuterol findings was not at all due to Fifa, the World Anti-Doping Agency Wada or other sports associations, but rather to research by the British media before their selection’s round of 16 against Mexico in the 2,300 meter high Aztec Stadium – this reinforces the impression of concerted cheating. Even afterwards, Fifa or Wada did not officially comment.

So does the World Cup have a doping problem?

General answer: no less than usual in the football business. Because the billion-dollar company prefers to control its Pappenheimers itself, in the case of the World Cup this is the control of the Gianni Infantino money collector system. The rules state bluntly: “In the case of a player controlled by FIFA, FIFA alone has the right to publish the results and the corresponding measures.”

Everything stays in the family: rich football can easily afford this absurd special role compared to everyone else, including Wada. Because it doesn’t have to fear any existential funding cuts from state funding or from Olympic sports like almost every other sport. And also not the expulsion from the Olympic Games: They are just competition anyway, FIFA is just sending their U23 kickers there.

That’s why doping is still the biggest blind spot in football today. Although the professionals run and sprint and fight like there is no tomorrow, fueled by the prospect of single- to double-digit million salaries per year. FIFA knows the mindset of global sports society: What is not discussed or reported on does not exist. So no one talks about doping at all.

Richard Pound, the Canadian founding president of WADA, recently emphasized that the football authorities should not be trusted. Nevertheless, the Tunisian clenbuterol glut deserves separate consideration. The values ​​are said to be below the doping threshold that exists specifically for this preparation, which is why the Wada findings only indicate “atypical findings” – that is a level of suspicion.

In fact, Clenbuterol is a special case – and a Mexican specific product. This is where the muscle preparation is used in cattle breeding, which has often resulted in spectacular sporting results. There was huge excitement at the Gold Cup 2011, the North American continental championship, when five Mexican national team players were caught with clenbuterol. They were banned, but acquitted after intensive analysis because everything pointed to food contamination. The strongest evidence of this came from the U17 World Cup, which also took place shortly afterwards in Mexico: a FIFA series investigation showed that 109 of 208 urine samples examined showed traces of clenbuterol. The problem was (and is) apparently more one of public health in Mexico than one of sport. At least when it comes to such small quantities.

Tunisia’s players are at home, their clubs have been informed, and there will be no consequences. However, the incident reveals a deep-rooted problem at the World Cup, the world’s largest cultural spectacle: the audience is unlikely to notice real cases of fraud, especially not during the event. FIFA remains silent about supposedly harmless incidents – how would they deal with real cases on this topic, which is extremely damaging to business? The biggest myth of the World Cup must remain valid: The last doping case took place in the USA – but in the title fights 32 years ago, when Argentina’s superstar Diego Maradona was pulled out of the game with an ephedrine mix; Incidentally, under questionable circumstances.

Since then there has been nothing official, not even when there are documents on the table. Like at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. At that time, as a result of the Russian state doping scandal, it was revealed that the entire 23-man Sbornaja World Cup squad was on an internal list of suspects – there were also clear indications of a cover-up system in football, including exit checks before the World Cup departure. It was examined a bit, then the lid was put on. After all, the next World Cup was in 2018: in Russia.

When it comes to the danger posed by Mexican beef steaks, Team England traveled to the World Cup country well prepared. With our own kitchen team.