Who Stole Our Game? The Fall & Fall of Irish Soccer
8.11pm…The news that Cathal Lombard won’t be taking part in the World Cross Country’s later this month has probably come as something of a relief to Athletics Ireland. While Lombard has done the time he is still being shunned by Irish athletes,
“‘I’ve respect for every other athlete, but not him,’ [third-placed Vinny] Mulvey insisted. ‘My view is you get done for for drugs you should get done for life. You shouldn’t be able to make a come-back. There’s people who’ll say “ah, water under the bridge” but it’s my view that you can’t trust someone like that.’ “
It begs the question of course when is a ban over and why can’t an athlete be accepted back into the fold after completing a ban? Judging by the controversy over the recent Dwain Chambers selection dilemma in Britain, while athletes may have a problem with it, legally, athletics associations can not prevent former drug cheats from being selected again.
The question now for Irish athletics is: when will they be able to accept Lombard back into the fold?
Filed under: Athletics, Drugs in Sport | Tagged: athletics ireland, cathal lombard, dwain chambers, irish athletics, olympic council of ireland
