Summary: Joining Anto for a second special episode this week is athlete turned sports correspondent Cathal Dennehy who breaks through the silence of a problem plaguing the world game for decades, but now surfacing as recent reports from The Sunday Times and German media have begun to document how football could become the next doping problem in world sport. A new study commissioned by UEFA which has examined more than 4,000 urine tests from top-level European players between 2008 and 2013, found that 7.7 percent of the 879 players tested had atypical samples that indicate the possible use of anabolic steroids. Armed with this fresh data, intelligence and long-known instances that have gone silent or under-reported, new facts now illustrate that some of the biggest names and biggest competitions are being confronted with a new reality. We explore a number of the most important milestones, some of the names attached to the doping stigma and why governing bodies resist the need to attack this issue head on like track and field and cycling have over the last decade. More importantly, has football adopted a willful ignorance over the years about this dirty secret, does it fear yet another scandal the could cripple its credibility and sponsorship appeal, and is it now time for football to get serious before it loses the capacity to control the narrative. These are among the big questions asked and while UEFA has indicated a willingness to adopt biological passport technology, questions remain at the doorstep of a troubled FIFA which has long ignored the best practices from other sports.
