Josh Yorwerth's extraordinary ban for refusing a drugs test achieves precious little in sport's battle against doping

Although the FA punishes positive tests for recreational drugs with a sanction, it would have kept Yorwerth’s ban confidential on the basis that it regards such an offence as typically part of a wider problem for the individual concerned. In Yorwerth’s case, Peterborough have cited “personal issues”, without elaborating. The FA feels that is best dealt with through education or treatment undertaken away from the public gaze. The four-year ban for a refusal is set by the World Anti-Doping Association, whose code the FA follows.

This was the ultimate fork-in-the-road moment for a young footballer. Had he taken the test, he would already have served his sentence by now, and his absence would have barely been a footnote at Peterborough. He had only played 46 minutes of league football up until September having been signed by the now departed manager Steve Evans from Crawley Town in the summer.

Instead it has been towering stupidity that has all but ended Yorwerth’s professional career. He is understood to have believed that avoiding the test would only result in a two-year ban. Peterborough say that their players are offered an annual talk on anti-doping measures although they could not be sure whether Yorwerth attended one during his time at the club. Either way, he is no longer their concern, sacked for being in breach of a contract that will have expired long before his ban. The FA says that it sends officials to clubs to educate players about drug-use.

The sanctions on anti-doping are unforgiving - a test refused is as serious as a test failed. The FA’s UK Anti-Doping doping programme alone tests 4,500 players a year. In other sports where careers have been ruined by drugs cheats, there will be no sympathy. The length of this one, however, feels wrong.

What is the gain here in the battle against doping in sport? It is a career ended for a decision made in the heat of the moment, an act of stupidity that represents very little in the bigger picture. If Yorwerth is being made an example of, then it is hard to think just who might be the target audience. It is a ban handed down by a system that has been gamed so many times, by state-funded programmes or major multi-national interests, that it has lost its ability to fit the punishment to the crime.

No one doubts Yorwerth deserves to be punished. On the evidence presented, he would undoubtedly test negative for common sense. Even so, anti-doping measures should be sophisticated enough to distinguish between serious conspiracy and a League One centre-half being a bit of an idiot. Yorwerth has not denied anyone a medal or the chance to represent their country at an Olympics. By the looks of it he has barely denied any of his team-mates the chance to represent Peterborough. In many respects he is paying the price for anti-doping authorities looking weak in the past, a minor participant caught up in a global problem.

In 2015 Wada raised the tariff for refusing a test from a two-year ban to four. Even Rio Ferdinand, banned in 2003 for eight months, would have been treated with more leniency than Yorwerth under the new guidelines: at least he could argue that he had only forgotten to take his test. The decision on whether Yorwerth will appeal is expected soon although, without a club, any action will now have to be funded independently. More will be clear when the full judgment on Yorwerth’s case is published by the FA.

There was an attempt to contact Yorwerth about his situation but he did not respond. A cursory glance at his history suggests he has not always made smart decisions. A former Wales Under-21, who grew up near Bridgend, he was alleged to have been the culprit who posted footage on social media of the former Peterborough loan striker Jason Cummings smashing up his own television. Peterborough refused to comment on that allegation, saying only that the matter was dealt with “internally” at the time by Evans.

Yorwerth did enjoy two decent seasons with Crawley in League Two, a division where players like him compete season to season for one-year contracts. While not many outside his own circle will care much what happens to Yorwerth, it will be devastating for him to lose his livelihood.

He broke the golden rule of drug testing which says an athlete must always take the test, a regulation that many hundreds abide by every year. Doping in sport is a problem so grave that there must be serious consequences - so say the authorities - although you do wonder whether Yorwerth is the problem at all, or just a man caught up in an impossible conflict.

Brendan Rodgers must follow his instincts in enviable Leicester job

The appointment of Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City makes him the UK manager with the highest wage budget of any of his fellow native managers in the Premier League. It might not be as big a job as Liverpool but equally Leicester is not a small job either, with the club regarded by some sources as having the largest wage bill outside the top six. Either way, it is currently the best job in the game outside the top tier of the Premier League

Liverpool have changed a lot since Rodgers worked under their famous transfer committee of the time when the club was moving towards the successful recruitment model it has now finessed. So too the man himself who will be much more accepting of the technical director structure now. At Anfield one often thought Rodgers was trying to conform to the ideal of how a top manager should be. At Leicester it would be much better if he went on his instincts, and did not worry who he upset along the way.