Lie detector tests used in fight against doping in football

Italian football club Siena will take a novel approach to combating doping at the club, by submitting the club's players to lie detector tests.

Siena, which plays in Italy's Serie A, has taken the decision to use polygraph testing to protect the image of the club.

"If a player gets banned for drugs, the club suffers economic damage from the loss of an investment and sporting damage because the inability to field him can hurt results," says team psychologist Umberto Zerbini.

Zerbini says that the system, which was developed by experts at the University of Padua, has been used by Siena in private for a little while, though plans are afoot to make the system available to other clubs and sports insurance companies.

He also believes that the system can have other implications, for instance in assessing a player's psychological mindset after a serious injury.

SOURCE: ESPN