Brussels, 26/02/2009 (Agence Europe) - The new World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules have brought sharp criticism from athletes and could contravene European privacy rules. The new anti-doping code of conduct requires athletes to inform the Agency of their timetable three months in advance and say where they can be contacted during this period. WADA wants to be able to conduct surprise drugs tests, between 6.00am and 11.00pm, thus requiring athletes to be available for testing virtually 24 hours a day for three months. WADA has to be informed of any changes in timetable and if a sportsman or woman were to miss three drugs tests over an 18-month period, he/she could be suspended. These new measures, which came into force on 1 January, have already been strongly criticised by several athletes, including tennis player Rafael Nadal and pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva, who believe they infringe European privacy laws. WADA says it is astonished by the reactions to the testing which only affects high level athletes, and it seeks to play down the negative response. “I think some people are just reacting negatively to change. But it's clear that we need out-of-competition testing, because, generally speaking, that's when (cheating) athletes are doping up,” said WADA Director General David Howman. The European Commissioner for Sport Jan Figel has called on WADA to suspend its rules while the legal services assess whether or not they are compatible with European rules. Announcing that he was planning to meet WAA President John Fahey in the near future, Figel said, “I would urge the President of WADA: for the sake of clarity and cohesion between many stakeholders, WADA should put on hold this article and await the opinion of our working party on this, and then make a final decision.” The European Commission should have a clearer idea of the situation in the next two months, he added. In the European Parliament, MEP Emine Bozkurt also expressed her concerns over the new rules, which, she said, “take no account of the rights of the athletes and seem to run counter to European law” (see EUROPE 9801). (I.L./transl.rt)