Advertisement

Robert Snodgrass alleged to have sworn at anti-doping officials before claiming it might have been Andy Carroll talking

Robert Snodgrass served a one-game ban and fined for his outburst - Getty Images Europe
Robert Snodgrass served a one-game ban and fined for his outburst - Getty Images Europe

Robert Snodgrass, the West Ham United midfielder, has been accused of swearing at anti-doping officials before allegedly claiming it might have been Andy Carroll because of his northern accent.

Snodgrass was given a one-match ban and fined £30,000 for his outburst in February.

In written reasons now published by the Football Association, it has been revealed the player’s response to being confronted by the allegations was to think it was a joke and suggest that Carroll was the man to blame.

The written reasons reveal that UK Anti-Doping officials arrived at West Ham’s training ground on Feb 6 for a drugs test on the squad.

Snodgrass was accused by two officials of asking, “Have you c---- got nothing better to do?” in an “aggressive tone”.

When he was then confronted with the allegations, Snodgrass said: “How do you know it wasn’t Andy?”

Both officials had described seeing Snodgrass make the comment, and detecting his Scottish accent.

 

In his letter to the panel, Snodgrass said: “As a Scotsman, my accent can sometimes be difficult for people to understand.”

He added that he “speaks quite quickly so it is possible that the doping control personnel picked up wrongly what was being said among the players in the corridor”.

Snodgrass was supported by his captain, Mark Noble, who also wrote to the panel. Noble did concede, however, that it was possible the comment had been said without his knowledge.

The panel concluded that the words amounted to improper, abusive and insulting language. Snodgrass was not chosen to take a drugs test and he did not refuse to take one.