Can Premier League players smoke weed?


The English Premier League (EPL) is near and dear to many fans’ hearts and has grown to become arguably the best depiction of the sport of soccer/association football. However, like other sports leagues, the EPL also has a less attractive side – that of drug and substance use/abuse.

Can Premier League players smoke weed? The simple answer is no. Cannabis (weed) is illegal in England. It is therefore unlawful for all individuals, including Premier League players, to use it. Research nevertheless suggests that some EPL players either use the substance or know of other players who do.

We take a look at why the Premier League players can’t smoke weed and what happens if you get caught smoking weed in a drug test.

What the Rules Say

EPL rules do not expressly outlaw the use of weed. They however imply that weed and other illegal substances such as cocaine are prohibited under the second section of their statement of principles. The section, which is labelled “Compliance”, states that the league expects all of its personnel (including EPL players) are expected to comply with all applicable laws.

The expectation of compliance extends to all relevant professional codes and rules as well as the rules and regulations of the world’s football governing body, FIFA. Furthermore, there is an unwritten rule which expects players to not only carry out their duties on the pitch but also be (and act in a manner befitting) ambassadors of the league and the sport both off and on it.

Cannabis (weed) has been a controlled substance and illegal for recreational use in the United Kingdom ever since the late 1920s. It was classified as a Class C drug, which carried less severe penalties, in the early 2000s but was reclassified as a Class B drug before the decade was out. Weed is however legally available for medical use.

A Divisive Topic

Most professional sports leagues have different opinions on whether their players should be allowed to use weed recreationally though all are firmly against the use of performance enhancement drugs (PEDs).

Some leagues like the National Basketball Association (NBA) were initially against the use of weed by their players and even went as far as suspending players who ignored their directives for extended periods of time. A good example is former Milwaukee Bucks guard OJ Mayo.

The NBA has since softened its stance on the recreational use of marijuana by its players and even recently suspended all routine and/or random testing for their 2021/22 season. Part of the reasoning behind their decision was growing support for the argument that weed, unlike PEDs, do not give players an unfair advantage over their competition.

A number of European countries including the UK continue to insist that weed has no place in the sport, which is ironic considering the above-mentioned is the largest exporter of “legal” cannabis in the world. Amsterdam and Canada are of a different opinion and allow the recreational use of weed – a courtesy which extends to sports leagues and players.

Former Crystal Palace striker Chris Armstrong was the first player in EPL history to be sanctioned for using weed. The Englishman was slapped with a four-match ban and mandatory counselling and rehab after testing positive for the substance in March 1995.

A popular tabloid at the time condemned Armstrong and ridiculed him by writing that players who used the substance shouldn’t expect that it would help them to outmaneuver defenders or hang in the air in anticipation of a cross. 

The Cautionary Tale

Drug and substance use/abuse is looked down upon because of its many negative side effects. The said effects can extend past the health of the user to their livelihood – a fact that Arsenal legend Ian Wright can attest to.

In a past interview, Wright disclosed that weed almost cost him his career. The former striker went on to reveal that he had been a habitual user of the substance in his early career but was lucky not to have become addicted to it.

The Englishman admitted that he had been introduced to weed at a young age and that using it had become such an “end-of-the-week ritual” that he didn’t think that he was doing anything wrong by continuing the habit.

His moment of reckoning however came during his tenure with Crystal Palace on a day that had seen him and his former team dispatch league rivals West Bromwich Albion 4-1. Wright and his teammates had retired to their locker room to celebrate their victory but were unceremoniously interrupted by league-appointed drug testers.

The 1991-92 First Division Golden Boot winner had smoked weed less than a day before the fixture and was sure that his test would turn up positive if he were to be tested. Two of his colleagues’ jersey numbers were called (Mark Bright [9] and Phil Barber [11]) but to his relief, his [10] wasn’t.

Realizing that he had been given a second lease on life, Wright vowed to never smoke weed again. The English Football Hall of Fame inductee kept the vow throughout his illustrious career which saw him score well over 340 goals for club and country. 

The List of “Fame”

Aside from Armstrong and Wright, a handful of other EPL personnel (players and otherwise) joined an infamous list of weed smokers/users. Former Charlton duo Lee Bowyer and Dean Chandler were indicted for using weed after a random test was performed on them while they were at the club’s training ground.

The two were banned from competing for several months and were also enrolled into a mandatory rehabilitation course, which ultimately wrecked Chandler’s budding career. Bowyer too did not escape unharmed after his history of drug use was brought up to question his character after he was arrested and charged for causing grievous bodily harm to an individual some time later.

Former Arsenal midfielder David Hillier, who featured in the Gunners’ squad in the mid-1990s, also found himself on the wrong side of the law after failing a drug test. Hillier later confessed that he was only a passive smoker of weed and received a punishment that can only be compared to a slap on the wrist compared to his peers.

Ex-Manchester City and two-time Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini also let it slip that he used to smoke weed. A number of other ex-players have also been rumored to have used the substance during their careers but were never discovered or formally indicted.

Louis

Life long Portsmouth Fan and have followed football since 1993. Is there a better sport on earth?

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