Warne feels he is a victim of 'anti-doping hysteria'
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It is unfair to label banned cricketer Shane Warne a drug cheat, a leading Australian cricket official has said.
Tim May, the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) chief executive, feels there is a clear distinction between drug cheating
and technical breaches.
Warne was suspended for a year after a taking a banned diuretic, but May said the Australian Cricket Board's (ACB) anti-doping policy needs
to be changed.
"Because a player makes a mistake, it doesn't mean he's a
drug cheat," May, a former team-mate of Warne, said.
"The player should not escape scot-free but there should be
a clear differentiation between the two breaches."
Warne was spared the maximum penalty of a two-year ban.
The 33-year-old, who has until Saturday to appeal, has protested his innocence, claiming he is a victim of "anti-doping hysteria".
May said the structure of the ACB's anti-doping policy leaves players with tarnished reputations, even if they prove their innocence.
"We have a major concern with the drugs policy," he said.
Sutherland has voiced his support for Warne
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"They're still guilty of a doping charge. Their reputations
have to put up with an ongoing slur of being a drug cheat.
"They are deprived from earning their livelihood for a period of
time."
ACB chief executive James Sutherland echoed May's opinion.
"It is one thing to have banned substances in a sample that you
give and it is another to be a drug cheat," he said.
"The evidence that came through in the hearing confirmed my
thoughts that Shane Warne is no drug cheat."
Meanwhile, the ACB said it would not wait for details of a possible appeal before publishing the anti-doping committee's
judgment.
"We're progressively coming to the view after having spoken to
the National Sports Disputes Centre that it is possible to publish
it without jeopardising the appeal process," an ACB spokesman said.
"There are some mechanical issues to work through, but we do
plan to publish it as soon as we can.
"When we do publish it, we will do so with full transparency."
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