Who At The FA Is Taking The Pis*? As Snodgrass Charged

You couldn't make it up could you? What other top flight club would allow a situation to develop whereby one of their valued players is 'left at the hands' of pushy officials. Robert Snodgrass has been charged by the FA for allegedly using abusive language towards UK anti-doping officials at West Ham's training ground. It is alleged Snodgrass used abusive and/or insulting words towards the officials who were visiting West Ham's training ground on February 6 to conduct out of competition testing.

For those of you not in the know, when UK anti-doping officials turn up at a club's training ground they do so in a black Mercedes van with tinted windows nad where what can only bedescribed as 'door security staff' outfits , they are known for their lack of politness and prolific overusage of visual 'evidence' garnered at every opportunity. Essentially a UKAD visit is a bit like a raid from Customs and Excise, anyone leaving the premises without their permission is liable to sanction so it is hardly surprising that they are not exactly popular when they turn up, one major bug bear being disruption of the school run, which many footballers use to maintain some form of normality in their lives, there are also other stories of them 'jumping out' from behind bushes to 'catch' absconders!

The alleged abusive comment was made at the club's Rush Green training ground on a day the doping team arrived to randomly test a group of other players, Scotland international Snodgrass was not tested and was not due to be tested as he did not appear on this list of players, but was simply in attendance at the time of the alleged comment. We understand that 'Snoddy' took offence at the way the UKAD 'investigators' were going about their business and 'reminded' them that they were just doing their job and not masters of the Universe in so many words!

He has until March the 18th to respond to the charge. - Ed