Robert Snodgrass suggested Andy Carroll mistaken identity after UKAD incident
Thursday 23 May 2019 07:36, UK
West Ham midfielder Robert Snodgrass swore at UK Anti-Doping officials before later saying that it was maybe Andy Carroll because he also speaks with a northern accent, it has been revealed.
Snodgrass, who had denied a charge of improper conduct over the incident, served a one-match ban and was fined £30,000. West Ham made the decision not to appeal after reluctantly accepting the outcome.
In written reasons published by the Football Association, the documents outlined how UKAD officials arrived at the club's Rush Green training ground on February 6 for an out-of-competition drugs test on the squad.
As the players left a team meeting, Snodgrass was accused by two officials of asking "Have you c**** got nothing better to do?" in an "aggressive tone" and was "much louder than the jeers from the other players".
Both officials described seeing and hearing the ex-Leeds, Norwich and Hull player make the comment and detected his strong Scottish accent.
Later, after being confronted with the allegation, Snodgrass appeared shocked and thought it was a joke, asking "How do you know it wasn't Andy? (Carroll)"
In a letter to the panel, Snodgrass described the scene as "noisy" as players left the meeting room and explained that "as a Scotsman, my accent can sometimes be difficult for people to understand".
He went on to say that he speaks "quite quickly so it is possible that the Doping Control Personnel picked up wrongly what was being said amongst the players in the corridor".
Club captain Mark Noble, who was walking alongside Snodgrass in the corridor, also submitted a letter to the panel backing up his teammate's version of events although he did concede that he was not focussing on the Scotland international and therefore it was entirely possible that the comment was said without his knowledge.
The panel concluded that the words were not threatening but that they did amount to improper, abusive and insulting language.
Snodgrass was not selected for a test, nor did he refuse to do one.
The charge was proven by the panel on the balance of probability which means that the Commission is satisfied an event occurred if it considers that, on the evidence, the occurrence of the event was more likely than not.
