In a response that may bode ill for the case of Rafael Munoz, the Spanish swimmer who missed three out-of-competition doping tests this past year, WADA has issued a statement reinforcing its commitment to enforce its anti-doping Code across all sports. 

After comments suggesting that WADA was soft on footballers when it came to the rules on athlete whereabouts and attributed to the head of FIFA's medical committee by Insidethegames.

John Fahey, WADA President, stated: "WADA was surprised, to say the least, to read the comments attributed to the Chairman of the FIFA Medical Committee yesterday in the media. There is no exception for FIFA nor for any sport to the athletes’ whereabouts requirements set forth in the International Standard for Testing of the World Anti-Doping Code. FIFA knows that and accepted that a long time ago.

"FIFA’s rules are in line with WADA’s International Standard for Testing, which is the framework for harmonized testing rules among anti-doping organizations. FIFA has an International Registered Testing Pool which makes 24/7 testing possible. In addition, under the International Standard for Testing, in team sports, whereabouts information can be submitted by team officials on a collective basis as part of the team’s activities, and FIFA has incorporated this component into its anti-doping policy.

"It is also important to remember that whereabouts requirements are just a practical tool to help anti-doping organizations conduct effective out-of-competition testing. Irrelevant of whether they have been selected to be part of a registered testing pool, athletes can still be tested out-of-competition at any time by their International Federation, their National Anti-Doping Organization or other anti-doping organizations.

"The key element is the enforcement of whereabouts requirements by Code signatories. Over the coming months, WADA will continue to monitor the practical implementation of these rules by FIFA as it does with all Code signatories as part of its Code compliance report to be submitted to the WADA Foundation Board in November 2011."

That followed a harsh note sent to WADA by head of the American Swimming Coaches Association John Leonard that read: "It is extremely difficult to respect the work of WADA when it allows 'different rules' for different Federations. Kind of destroys the entire purpose of the WADA organization, does it not? The last sentence of this article [Insidethegames] is, to me, the death knell of WADA as an effective organization. We read it as Soccer has more financial clout than anyone else, and so gets a "free pass" on penalties. All in all, disgraceful and debilitating to the world of clean athletes. Discouraging to all those who have worked long and hard to clean up Olympic Sports. One can only have faint hope that the context of this article is incorrect."

WADA suggests that it is. All eyes will now be on the agency to see what decision it arrives at in the case of Munoz. The 50m butterfly champion skipped three tests but FINA's doping panel let him off on the eve of the European Championships in Budapest on the grounds that a doctor suggested that at the time of one of the missed tests the swimmer had been in a "psychologically vulnerable condition".

That decision has met with a response that ranges from angry to disappointed in swimming circles. No leniency was shown in other cases where mitigating circumstances were accepted.  That a mistake could be deemed "genuine" has not been accepted as reason to waive a penalty in a large number of recent cases, including some in swimming and cases of missed tests among leading names in track and field.

WADA is now reviewing the Munoz case in a week when the swimmer raced to a European 50m butterfly crown that he would have to hand back if WADA enforces its Code and does not accept the reasons given by FINA for exception to be made.