And the winner in the biggest axe to grind (international) goes to...

[SirFozzie]

The Belgian official who announced that U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova failed a drug test insisted Tuesday that he did the right thing.

Claude Eerdekens, the sports minister for Belgium's French-speaking south, said Kuznetsova should have said there was a medical reason for using the stimulant ephedrine, in which case her test at an offseason charity event wouldn't have been declared positive.

"I will never offer an apology," Eerdekens told Reuters in a telephone interview. "This product is banned, and it is up to her to explain why it is there."

"I did my duty. All of my duty," he told The Associated Press. "International tennis should be happy that we try to show that tennis is a clean sport. I plead with the tennis authorities to play the card of transparency."

Eerdekens was criticized by WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott for linking Kuznetsova to a positive doping test before full procedures were completed.

"I tell Mr. Scott: Play with open books, and if your athletes -- who I admire for their quality and courage -- are beyond reproach, then don't make such a big deal out of this," Eerdekens said.

"For the tennis federation, the good reaction would be to say: Let's cooperate with public authorities in all countries to eliminate doping," he added.

"If this is the conception of sport at the highest level ... there is something rotten in the world of sport," Eerdekens said.

Kuznetsova said she's certain she will be exonerated, and Scott said he doubts the player will be penalized. In fact, she was absolved of any offense because ephedrine is not banned when taken out of competition.

The absolution did not stop Kuznetsova from expressing her outrage for being implicated in a doping scandal.

The Russian, who is playing at the Australian Open, said she did nothing wrong by taking some medicine to fight a cold during the tournament. Ephedrine is a stimulant found in over-the-counter cough and cold remedies, as well as in asthma remedies and weight-loss pills.

Russian tennis chief Shamil Tarpishchev is also angry at Eerdekens for not advising tennis officials before going public.

Eerdekens said the news should not have come as a surprise to Kuznetsova. "Her trainer was in contact with us before we published her name," he said.

He added that Kuznetsova had not told the people doing the doping test that she was taking medication for a cold.

"She should have declared it at the time of the test, but she didn't do it," he said.

Under Belgian law, doping tests can be conducted at any time, including training sessions and exhibition tournaments.

The University of Ghent, which is accredited by the International Olympic Committee, analyzed the samples from the doping test.

Eerdekens told Belgian media over the weekend that a player failed a doping test at the Dec. 18-19 Women's Tennis Trophy exhibition tournament in Charleroi. He didn't say which player or what the substance was.

Only four players participated in that event, and Eerdekens said he decided to identify Kuznetsova on Monday to prevent the other three -- Belgium's Justine Henin-Hardenne, Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy and Elena Dementieva of Russia -- from being tainted.

"So the situation was exceptional, and so was the measure," he said.

Wow.. What a freaking jackass. Completely disregards the proceedures put in by the sport (maybe because he wouldn't get the press it gets now because there's no out of season testing, and it was for a cold) to try to publicly shame a player.

And then after announcing that there had been a dirty test.. they announced it because it would be unfair to taint the other people

[Ryan S]

Why were they carrying out a drug test at an exhibition tournament?

[SirFozzie]

because Belgian law states they can test at anything, including practices should they so choose.

ah.. here's the line, right from the story.

"Under Belgian law, doping tests can be conducted at any time, including training sessions and exhibition tournaments."

[BishopMVP]

I thought it was going to be the Benin fans who killed the U-20 goalie after the team lost a game (which it was shutout in, go figure why they attacked the GK.)