Business of Sport: John Whittingdale threatens to strip FA of government funding – Telegraph.co.uk

A panel of doping experts and a former Metropolitan Police commissioner have said more needs to be done to regain public trust in sport.

Former Metropolitan Police commissioner, Lord Stevens said “there is a crisis of confidence in sport” and called for the taking of performance-enhancing drugs to be made illegal.

 Lord Stevens added: “I believe some of the integrity breaches should be drafted into criminal law, including the taking of drugs.”

On the same panel, UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) chief executive Nicola Sapstead rubbished the idea, saying “the courts would be awash with amateurs.”

She called instead for “value-based preventative education”, teaching children to understand the nature of cheating.

Lord Stevens also called for a “new, global structure” dedicated to stamping out corruption in sport like money-laundering and match-fixing. 

He added: “You can have speculation you can have all the chatter around the fringes, but it’s about absolute evidence.”

Ms Sapstead also emphasised the complex process of in investigating corruption, adding that it was “slightly scandalous” that sports do not give more money to organisations like UKAD.

She added: “When you look at the issue of intelligence and investigations it’s a complex area… but you can only do so much each day.”

Ms Sapstead refused to comment on the effectiveness of UKAD testing on Russian athletes  and whether they should be allowed to compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.