Cas opens lid on drug use

Former Irish international striker Tony Cascarino says that he regularly received injections of unknown drugs to enhance his performance while playing for French club Olympique Marseille in the 1990s.

In his column in yesterday's London Times, Cascarino said it was normal practice for most of the Marseille players to be given an injection by the club doctor before all their home games.

"To this day I don't have a clue what it was, the doctor would only tell me that it would give me an adrenalin boost and I never felt inclined to ask the rest," Cascarino said.

"Whatever the substance was, my performances improved. I cling to the sliver of hope that it was legal, though in reality I'm 99 per cent sure it wasn't."

Cascarino said that the injection was given with a "staple gun laden with 20 needles" and that, as a foreigner and newcomer to the team, he would have felt uncomfortable declining.

He also said that chairman Bernard Tapie, who ruled the club completely, "made it clear my place in the team depended on me partaking".

He said the jabs, given 45-60 minutes before kick-off, made him feel sharper and more energetic and that only a few players avoided them.

Cascarino, who scored 61 league goals in two seasons with Marseille from 1994 to earn the nickname "Tony Goal", said he asked the club masseur if the injections were legal and was told they were 'okay'.

"I reasoned he meant it was safe rather than legal," said Cascarino, adding that the few drugs tests carried out at the time were done by the club's own doctor.

He said that the jabs were given only before home games but added that he did not take them before European games because he was worried about UEFA's stricter testing programme.

He said once he had signed a new contract and his position at the club was safe he was able to refuse the injections.

The striker said that the jabs were a source of banter from opponents and that when he left to join French club Nancy, Cascarino said his new team-mates used to tease him about the drugs, mimicking an injection in the arm.