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IOC defending its anti-drug policies

LONDON - Seven months after holding an international conference on the escalating drug crisis in sports, the IOC is facing roadblocks to its plans for a world antidoping agency and a new antidoping code.

White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey said Wednesday the IOC's drug agency project is unacceptable, claiming it lacked transparency, accountability and independence, and maintained ''the Byzantine elements of the current IOC.''

It's not the first time McCaffrey and the IOC have locked horns. At the anti-drug summit in February, IOC officials responded to McCaffrey's criticism by telling him to solve the serious doping problem in American sports before lecturing the IOC.

Dick Pound, an IOC vice president spearheading the antidoping agency project, said he would write to McCaffrey to contest his latest remarks.

''I'm a little disappointed with his approach,'' Pound said in a telephone interview. ''It ignores a lot of good work that has been done leading to an international consensus for the agency. That's what we promised at the world conference and that's what we've delivered.''

Jacques Rogge, an IOC executive board official, accused McCaffrey of ignoring that the agency plans have been backed by European governments, the United Nations, World Health Organization and other bodies.

''If that's not a strong political agreement, I don't know what is,'' he said. ''If Gen. McCaffrey is not happy, he better consult with the other governments who have given their approval. He should not point the finger at the IOC.''

The drug agency is designed to coordinate drug testing around the world, including unannounced out-of-competition controls. The IOC, which is putting up $25 million to get the agency started, has promised it will be established by the end of the year.

IOC director general Francois Carrard said a Swiss foundation, run by a board of directors consisting of government and sports officials, would be set up shortly to manage the agency.

Several contentious issues remain to be decided - namely where the agency will be located and who will run it. Critics, like McCaffrey, say the agency should be completely independent of the IOC.

Lausanne, Switzerland, where the IOC is based, is one of the possible sites being considered for the agency's headquarters. Other cities which have expressed interest include Vienna, Austria; Madrid, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal, and Stockholm, Sweden.

Among the agency's tasks will be to apply the IOC's controversial new ''Olympic Movement Anti-Doping Code.'' The 95-page document sets out guidelines on drug testing, sanctions, rules and procedures for all Olympic sports.

The code, approved by the IOC at its session in Seoul, South Korea, in June, is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1. But it has come under attack from several leading Olympic officials.

John Coates, president of the Australian Olympic Committee, recently sent a 12-page letter to IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch criticizing the code as ''unworkable.''

Coates, a lawyer, found numerous holes in the document, including flaws in the definitions of doping and trafficking and failure to fully address the issue of out-of-competition testing.

Pound, who drafted the document along with fellow IOC vice president Keba Mbaye of Senegal, said the code is a ''work in progress.''

''It's not perfect,'' Pound said. ''No document in this field will ever be perfect. If any changes should or will be made, they ought to be made at the behest of the agency.''

Senior officials of two major Olympic sports, track and field and swimming, have expressed serious reservations about the code.

Gunnar Werner, honorary secretary of the international swimming federation, said he agreed with many of Coates' complaints.

''I hope (the document) will be delayed or reconsidered,'' he said. ''The main problem is it completely changes the whole system of sanctions. It conflicts with our rules. At the moment, we would not be able to apply it.''

Arne Ljungqvist, chairman of the International Amateur Athletic Federation's medical commission, said his federation would also need to change its rules, noting that the next IAAF congress won't be held until 2001.

The code lists a scale of sanctions for drug offenses, including ''intentional doping.''

For example, recommended penalties for a first offense for use of stimulants or other minor substances are: a warning, a ban from one or several competitions, a fine of up to $100,000, and a suspension of one to six months.

For intentional doping with steroids, the listed penalties are: life ban from participation in any sports event, fine of up to $1 million, suspension of four years to life from all sports competition.

Werner and Ljungqvist questioned how sports officials will be able to prove intentional doping. According to the document, intentional doping can be proved ''by any means whatsoever, including presumption."