Name : Abhishek Marwaha

An Unfair Advantage ?
If you dont take it , you wont make it Tyler Hamilton .Beneath the
crowds of people cheering in the stands and the electricity of players
on the pitch , lies a deep dark world ruled by the power of performance
enhancing drugs. The pure game of soccer is often infiltrated with
smudges of impurities in the form of steroid use by players. The evils
of this dark world run parallel with a world in which everyone believes
is drug free . Doping in soccer is a serious matter , it gives athletes a
significant advantage over the other athletes which is not legitimate
and therefore I oppose doping or any other type of steroidal use in
soccer. Doping or any other type of steroidal use in soccer is not only
an act of dishonor and deceit but also injurious to players who use
them which thereby reduces the credibility and the winsomeness of the
beautiful game.
Popular belief has us believe that steroid use is good for
athletes and improves their performance. Several coaches encourage
their players to join this cult so that their athletic limits are pushed
beyond limit . The real question now is why do athletes take
performance enhancing drugs when they know it is banned? .The
answer is simple and can be answered in just one word, the
bandwagon. Athletes such as soccer players who are asked to go

through tremendous pain barriers when it comes to stamina or

endurance are often easily inducted into the world of performance
enhancing drugs because the other athletes are doing it . This
creates a problem of choice. In this scenario an athlete has two
choices , he can go ahead and move onto taking these performance
enhancing drugs and reach the top of his physical form without the
significant hardwork he would have needed earlier , or righteous and
refuse but live in the fear of always being inferior to other athletes who
do take performance enhancing drugs. This is a difficult choice in many
senses , and although there are athletes who do not succumb to this
choice and live by their honor and sense of values there are athletes
who prefer to take the easier way out to glory. What my argument is
against is obvious , I am against doping or steroid use of any kind
because it proposes serious threats to an athletes health physically
and mentally .In the long run athletes who choose to take
performance enhancing drugs to win short term accolades eventually
loose , by paying the price with their health.

The first ever case of doping in soccer occurred in the

1993 champions league finals by French players. They were accused of
using steroids such as EPO to enhance stamina .They won the the
final , and lifted the prestigious champions league trophy and dint get
caught for over ten years. In the summer of 2003 , the manager who

led them to victory upon being sacked revealed to the world what had
been going on.A lack of testing measures and strict supervision
allowed players to openly inject themselves with these substances.
Athletes who use performance enhancing drugs are more likely to have
a lesser life expectancy than athletes who do not use performance
enhancing drugs. These drugs are synthesized in labs and can adverse
and detrimental effects on the bodies and minds of athletes. Deigo
Maradona a world renowned athlete was caught in the 1994 world
cup as he tested positive for cocaine. He has since been on various
illnesses and diseases which shortened his football career .A player
once known to be the best in the sport for his entire generation now
has to be shackled down by the very performance enhancing drugs he
took. Performance enhancing drugs also influence the minds of soccer
players. While their physical ability increases temporarily , their logical
reasoning and spatial awareness drastically declines , the two things a
soccer player needs ever so vitally.
People who still believe performance enhancing drugs
are a part of sports need to be disillusioned by the cold hard facts
regarding the negative side of doping. It has ruined many careers on
the soccer field an in sport in generally and it continues to plague
sports till this day .I whole heartedly believe that doping should not be
encouraged and its use should be prohibited in order to maintain the
equilibrium of soccer and other sports.