WADA : test the testers.

The world of sports is no doubt getting too sophisticated for me, but, once again, I do not get it.

Jean-François Lamour a former French sports minister and, more importantly, fencing Olympic champion, was heir apparent to Richard Pound to head the World Anti-doping Agency.

Then, another candidate surfaced, Australian John Fahey, a former minister too, who seemed to wake up one morning with the overpowering desire to lead the crusade against doping.

Fahey had just seen the light. Such things happen.

As unexpectedly, Lamour blew a fuse and resigned not only from hsi candidacy, from the agency too : according to him, Fahey was the candidate for the countries which did not want to fight doping, i.e. the US and allies. An EADA should be created : European Anti-doping Agency.

The new head of Wada was to be lected this weekend in Madrid. At the last hour, the Europeans, against all the Agency lelection rules, came with a new candidate : one more French former sports minister and Olympic champion, Guy Drut.

The Europeans eventually had to concede defeat and John Fahey.

Why this bad smell and the unpleasant feeling that we have not been allowed to know all the stakes in the election and that the dealing within WADA are as murky as certain body fluids the testing of which for banned substances, the Agency is supposed to oversee.

We have lost about all hope in the ahtletes' ethics, it would be bad to start nurturing suspicions about the referees' mental health, if not honesty.

(P.M.)