German hockey player finds doping test interupts 'private moment'

Germany continued to use hockey player Florian Busch, even though he refused a doping test, apparently requested at a delicate moment.  The Winnipeg Sun gets into the coverage:

In an era of sports doping stories galore, this was a new one. Busch, a German forward, was in limbo to continue play in the tournament when the World Anti-Doping Agency requested the IIHF suspend the player from the world championship as a result of his refusal to produce a urine sample when an out-of-competition request was made prior to the team travelling for the tournament.

After answering his door and refusing the random test, Busch made himself available to be tested a couple hours later and passed. Yesterday the IIHF ruled he could continue in the tournament. But the story was a bit on the sensational side in the details.

The player refused the test, which is akin to flunking it.  However he felt he was going to get screwed treated unfairly by the IIHF:

"He didn't do anything illegal, other than to tell somebody to get away from his front door," said Germany coach Uwe Krupp.

"I don't know how to put this delicately. His girlfriend was in his apartment at the time and he was not so inclined to make himself available at that moment for the test. He didn't want to deal with that person then and there.

"He's not a doping offense. He was in a private moment and didn't want to deal with the controller. A couple hours later he took the test and passed.

Interesting.  Seems plausible, expect that savvy Euro cyclists use excuses like this all the time.

"You have to understand that things are very different in Europe than North America right now because of the Tour de France scandals. Germany is leading the charge. A player has to inform the anti-doping agency where they will be every 24 hours by website or a 1-800 number. If they go away for 24 hours for a road game or a family trip they have to notify them every day. The first offense is a warning and the second offense means you are ineligible for the Olympics."

The IIHF accepted that the Germans had investigated the case properly and accepted the player's eligibility.

One more excuse for the doping Hall of Fame.