Fear of expensive legal suits from banned players is one possible reason why football body FIFA has not accepted Olympic standards on drugs testing, a leading anti-doping official says.
Canadian Dick Pound, chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will meet FIFA president Sepp Blatter in Montreal to discuss football adopting a new testing procedure for next summer's World Cup Finals in Japan and South Korea.
The long-term result could be more regular testing of the British game, as in Italy where Juventus's Edgar Davids and Lazio's Fernando Couto and Jaap Stam have tested positive for nandrolone.
Pound told the Daily Telegraph: "There's no philosophical difference between us and FIFA. The big issue is the fight against doping in sport.
"It's their concern that, on the basis of a WADA test, they may have to suspend a player for two years. A player earning £5 million sterling a year might take recourse to the courts in his own country and this could expose FIFA to major losses.
"We hope FIFA will invite WADA to the World Cup, it will be important for the integrity of the competition".
PA