Football: Hayel ready for new dope test after bungle

MELBOURNE- The Jordan player who fell ill and could miss the rest of the Asian Cup after a botched anti-doping procedure told AFP he is happy to be re-tested.

Ahmad Hayel started vomiting and lost consciousness after drinking a large amount of water when asked for a urine sample after Jordan's 1-0 loss to Iraq on Monday.

Jordanian officials lodged an official protest, but Hayel said he was ready to do another test if asked by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

"I am ready to do another test," he said in an interview late on Thursday. "I have never taken illegal substances in my life." Strict new World Anti-Doping Agency rules say players can be banned for four years for failing to provide a urine sample.

But Jordanian officials also told AFP that it was the AFC doctor who cancelled the test when Hayel fell ill, and anyway that the sample he managed to give was sufficient.

They earlier said Hayel left the stadium in Brisbane in a "semi-coma" and suffering from hypothermia.

The player called it a "bad situation".

"Everything was normal until I entered the doping room," said Hayel. "The humidity was high in Brisbane but it was freezing cold in that room.

"I couldn't urinate, so they made me drink a lot of water. I started to throw up and then passed out. It was a bad situation."

Jordan's coach Ray Wilkins tore into the AFC, accusing them of endangering the player's health and confirming he would miss Friday's game against Palestine in Melbourne.

But Hayel insisted he would do everything possible to take part in Jordan's final Group D clash against Asian Cup-holders Japan on Tuesday in Melbourne.

"I will play in the Japan game even if it kills me," he said. "I'm so sad about what's happened because the Jordan fans rely on me."

"I couldn't train yesterday," added Hayel. "I had a blood test and everything was normal but I need to replace sugar and salt into my body and feel extremely tired." The AFC has insisted the correct protocol had been followed.

With his side facing an early exit following their opening game defeat by 2007 Asian Cup winner Iraq, Wilkins expressed his annoyance at being robbed of his forward.

"I will not chance any young man if he has a problem, never - so we may lose Ahmad for two games," said the former Queens Park Rangers and Fulham manager, under pressure after only four months in the job.

"We've lost a very important player. The most important consideration must be the well-being of the player."