S. Korean football league set to start doping tests

SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's football governing body said Wednesday it
will hold a random drug test next month of its professional players in the
domestic league, joining a nationwide effort to keep pro sports clean.
The Korea League will hold education sessions early next month on its new
anti-doping policy for the players and coaches of the 15 clubs and hold on-spot
drug tests, a league official said.
Once a full plan is endorsed by the league's board meeting on June 17, routine
drug tests will be held during matches, the official said.
The effort marks the first in South Korea to check whether pro footballers have
used banned performance-enhancing drugs.
The Korea Baseball Organization began testing South Korean players in its pro
league in 2007, expanding examinations to foreign players this year. No athletes
have so far been found to have used banned substances.
The K-League's decision came after a retired baseball player's confession in his
book that he had seen several domestic star players use banned steroid pills to
improve their performance.
The football governing body said it launched its "Clean K-League" campaign to
ring an alarm bell for players have been exposed to performance-enhancing drugs.
"We have come up with the doping plan to arouse athletes' attention to side
effects of banned drugs and clean up the league," said the league official.
The new measures will require an athlete from each team that advances to the
playoffs to give urine samples during half time, according to the official.
He said that athletes who are found to have used banned substances may be given a
six-month to two-year suspension. The Korea Institute of Science and Technology
and the Korea Anti-Doping Agency will help the examination, he added.
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)