Two female North Korean Footballer players caught doping

[F.I.S.T. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close F.I.S.T.]

Football's governing body FIFA banned North Korean defenders Song Jong-Sun and Jong Pok-Sim on Thursday after they failed a doping test.

"Two players from Korea DPR, Jong Sun Song and Sim Pok Jong, were provisionally suspended prior to their team's match against Colombia in Bochum yesterday in view of adverse analytical findings in the 'A' samples collected during two anti-doping tests conducted after the team's previous matches in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup," said FIFA in a statement.

The pair were removed from the lineup for North Korea's goalless draw with Colombia in Bochum on Wednesday, but after the Group C game, the entire team were tested by FIFA. "This is a unique event at the World Cup, but if there are two positive samples in a team it means we have to investigate," said Dr Jiri Dvorak, FIFA's chief medical officer.

The two players were tested after the first two games against the United States and Sweden and their samples were examined at the World Anti-Doping Agency laboratory in Kreischa, east Germany, and then at the German Sport University in Cologne. "This is a very sad day," said Dvorak.

[number twelve Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close number twelve]

any idea what they got popped for?

[F.I.S.T. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close F.I.S.T.]

FRANKFURT, Germany — North Korean officials blamed traditional musk deer gland medicine used after a lightning strike for five positive tests for steroids at the Women's World Cup, the biggest soccer doping scandal at a major tournament in 17 years.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Saturday that after two players were caught this month, the world soccer governing body took the unprecedented step of testing the rest of the North Korean squad and found three more positive results.

"This is a shock," Blatter said. "We are confronted with a very, very bad case of doping, and it hurts."

A North Korean delegation told Blatter and the head of FIFA's medical committee Saturday that the steroids were accidentally taken with traditional Chinese medicines based on deer glands.

"The North Korean officials said they didn't use it to improve performance. They said they had a serious lightning accident with several players injured and they gave it as therapy," said Michel D'Hooghe, chief of FIFA's medical committee. "It is not systemic because not all of the players took it. We would have found it with the others, too."

The case will be taken up by FIFA's disciplinary committee. Players face a ban of as long as two years.

Defenders Song Jong Sun and Jong Pok Sim tested positive for steroids after North Korea's first two group games and were suspended for the last match. The team was eliminated in the first round.

Blatter said the North Korean federation "wrote to us, and they presented their excuses. They said that a lightning strike was responsible for this."

The names of the three other players will be made public later, FIFA said.

FIFA annually spends about $30 million on 35,000 doping tests. Despite the cases at the Women's World Cup, "doping really is a marginal, fringe phenomenon in football," Blatter said.

The last doping case at a major event came at the men's 1994 World Cup in the United States, when Diego Maradona was kicked out after testing positive.

[F.I.S.T. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close F.I.S.T.]

The elimination of the North Korean women soccer team in the early stage of the Women’s World Cup in Germany sends them home early too. But even if they lost all the matches, the North Korean team is still conquering the headlines. Before their match up against Colombia, two of their players were sidelined because they tested positive for anabolic steroids. The positive steroid test of defenders Song Jong-Sun and Jong Pok-Sim prompted the FIFA to oblige the entire team undergo steroid testing.

5 Women Soccer Players Failed Steroid Test

On Saturday, the FIFA announced that they found another three players from the North Korean team who are positive for anabolic steroids. The names of the three women soccer players were still withheld while more information is being gathered. This is so far the worst doping scandal in the World Cup since 1994. Soccer legend Diego Maradona was expelled from the competition because anti-doping officials found in his system a banned stimulant.

The North Koreans has to do a lot of explaining why 5 of their players failed the anti-doping test. FIFA president Sepp Blatter was shocked by this incident. “If we look at a situation where almost the entire team of players is confronted with such a situation, it is a predicament and this is also really hurting us. You can hear the emotion in my voice,” he told the AP.

FIFA is one of the leading sports organizations in the world with a strong stand against doping. This year’s World Cup is now tainted with steroids. “We are confronted with a very, very bad case of doping and it hurts,” said Blatter.

North Korean Sports Officials Cooperating with FIFA

Blatter also said that the North Koreans are cooperating with FIFA about the incident. Officials sent an explanation to the football body and also sent a delegation to discuss the issue with FIFA officials. The chief medical officer of FIFA, Jiri Dvorak, told the media that the North Koreans blamed a Chinese medicine which caused the positive steroid test.

Musk Deer Gland Possible Source of Steroids

According to North Korean sports officials, players were given traditional Chinese medicine when several team members were struck by lightning in a training camp. The team doctor allegedly gave this remedy, which include an extract from musk deer gland, to players who were hospitalized.

FIFA confirmed that the team doctor gave them samples of the medication which returned positive for 14 types of steroids. Though not all of them are considered anabolic, these steroids were also found in the samples of 5 women soccer players.

FIFA admitted that the use of musk deer gland extract is still uncommon in the world of doping. This is the first time they encountered the use of this medicine in soccer football.

FIFA not Ignoring Other Causes

The chairman of FIFA’s medical committee said that it is still hard to determine if the said medicine was the only cause of the failed steroid test. “It is hard to determine right now, exactly where the blame lies and we need to find out more first,” said Michel D’Hooghe.

The case of the 5 North Korean soccer players will be handled by FIFA’S Disciplinary Committee. D’Hooghe said that the North Koreans are fully cooperating with their investigation. “We didn’t have the impression they are trying to hide anything,” D’Hooghe added.

A and B Sample Tested

According to FIFA, the A and B samples of the 5 players were already tested. The Colombian goalkeeper Yineth Varon also failed the anti-doping test. The investigation on Varon revealed that she received three injections of steroids and undergoing hormonal treatment. It is unclear whether the player informed FIFA about her medical condition. The 6 players are facing two-year suspension from the sport.

Meanwhile, the championship title in the Women’s World Cup 2011 is now being contested by Japan and the United States.

[mauricehenry Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mauricehenry]

Who can help me to get real-time updates or news now? I don't have access to current news to check reliable news sources or FIFA's official website for the latest information on the specific case of Song Jong-Sun and Jong Pok-Sim. The only website I can access is uno online. Hope that there is anyone can help me.