Manchester United defender Phil Jones was disciplined by UEFA for violation of the association’s doping regulations. There was no implication that he engaged in doping activity, but the infraction stemmed from his supposed violation of the sanctioning body’s regulatory protocol.
The Englishman got hit with a two match ban, which denied him the opportunity to celebrate the UEFA Europa League Final triumph over Ajax in Stockholm. Additionally, his teammate Daley Blind was fined 5,000 Euro with the club itself getting hit for an additional 10,000 Euro penalty.
Not only did Phil Jones have to miss the post-match celebration of a huge milestone with his teammates, but he was also left out of a gesture that had a larger meaning beyond football.
Jones was angry that UEFA’s punishment kept him from taking part in a squad photo of players holding a sign reading: ‘MANCHESTER – A CITY UNITED’
The Europa League Final came just two days after the Manchester Arena terror attack, a bombing of an Ariana Grande concert that left 23 dead and 250 injured. As you would expect, Jones was irate at having to miss the tribute. Blind was in the photograph, and he attended some of the celebration festivities, even though this was a violation of Europa League protocol.
Graham Stringer, a MP for Blackley and Broughton, wrote to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin for clarification on this matter, and the Manchester Evening News say they have seen a copy of Ceferin’s reply.
Here’s a snippet, from M.E.N. Sport:
‘The first player from Manchester United, Phil Jones, came to the DCS (doping control station) and was very upset that he had to be in the DCS,’ UEFA’s head of president office, Luka Zajc, wrote.
‘He wanted to leave the DCS to celebrate with the team but I told him that he had to do the sampling first.
‘He then told me I was a f***** doing this and that I had a f****** job and how I could be so f****** stupid to consider having such a f****** job.
‘I told him that this was the UEFA regulations and that my job was to do the control. He still continued to tell me I had a f****** job and how I even could do that job.
‘I then asked him to calm down and stop insulting me and then he said he didn’t want to talk to me anymore.
For the rest of what the UEFA official claims Phil Jones said to him, go here to the M.E.N. link.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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