Ferguson says short-notice changes to training could derail the plans
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has labelled plans to introduce more stringent drug testing in football "a nuisance".
New proposals to bring football into line with other sports will force players to notify testers of their whereabouts for an hour a day.
"It will cost the Football Association a fortune and the implementation will be very difficult," said Ferguson.
But United captain Rio Ferdinand backed the scheme, saying "it sounds fair".
"If it brings us up to the level of all the other sportsmen, then I'm in favour," said Ferdinand, who served an eight-month ban in 2003 for missing a drugs test.
"We get tested quite a lot anyway. A lot of players get tested three or four times a season so it would be no different to what we're used to.
"If the powers that be say moving to a new level and revealing where we are in advance is the right thing to do, then we'll get on with it."
But Ferdinand's club manager, Ferguson, remains to be convinced, suggesting the demands would create a logistical nightmare.
"You have to notify the FA where that player will be for one hour that day so if they want to test them or see them, they know the address," said Ferguson, who celebrates 50 years in football on Saturday.
"There are some occasions where you look at your team and think 'maybe I will give them this day off'. We then have to start notifying the FA that the players are not in training and give them addresses where they might be.
"That player might be sitting in the house and decide to go shopping. They might even forget."
Ferdinand admitted that forgetfulness had been his downfall, but he advised younger players to learn from his mistake.
"I'd say to them it's all part and parcel of the game," he said.
"Whatever rules there are out there you have to deal with it. You have to make sure you're there to be tested and you have to let people know where you're going to be. Simple as that."
The new proposals would also see players facing tests - for both recreational and performance-enhancing substances - at their homes, a move that has been opposed by Professional Footballers' Association.
"We feel to invade the privacy of a player's home is a step too far," said PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor.
"If we complain about anything to do with drug-testing people think we might have something to hide, but football's record is extremely good and there has been a virtual absence of any performance-enhancing drugs over decades."
The tests aim to bring football into line with the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) code, which requires football to align itself with the testing initiatives of Olympic and other team sports such as rugby and cricket.
The scheme is expected to begin next season, with a new version of the Wada code set to be introduced on 1 January 2009.
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
Bookmark with:
What are these?