City player's case may be used in legal battle

Christian Negouai, the Manchester City midfielder, was handed a fine of £2,000 by the Football Association at a secret hearing for missing a recent drugs test. The Frenchman's case will now be used by Rio Ferdinand's advisors to seek leniency for the England defender in the wake of his own missed test on 23 September.

The revelation about Negouai emerged yesterday after UK Sport, which oversees drugs testing in Britain, confirmed it was still waiting for official notification from the FA of the outcome of a case involving a player who was recorded as refusing a drugs test during UK Sport's accounting season of 2002-03. Neither the FA nor UK Sport would provide any specific comment on Negouai, but sources close to the case confirmed the details.

Negouai, 28, a £1.5m signing from the Belgian club Charleroi, was due to take a pre-arranged drugs test at City's training ground shortly after the end of last season. At the appointed time he went missing, later explaining that he had had to collect his mother from the airport. That was recorded as a refusal in UK Sport's record.

He said he was delayed in traffic on his return and missed the test. At the FA hearing, where it was decided that the case should be kept secret, his reason for not taking the test was considered and he was handed a £2,000 fine.

He was also told he would be subjected to "target testing" - at random and frequent intervals - until the end of this year. The Professional Footballers' Association advised Negouai throughout his case. City were relieved at the outcome, fearing a ban.

Ferdinand's advisors are preparing to claim that double standards have been used by the FA in dealing with the two cases. It seems unlikely that Ferdinand will receive a two-year ban for missing his test - the theoretical maximum for the offence - but feels he is being dealt with more harshly because of his profile. He was dropped yesterday from England's squad to face Turkey this weekend.

A source close to Ferdinand said last night: "We are looking at possible legal action against the FA. We know what happened with the Manchester City player and cannot understand why Rio's case is being handled in this way."