CHERRIES have been charged in relation to the Football Association’s rules on anti-doping and given until Thursday to respond.

It is alleged Cherries failed to ensure their ‘Club Whereabouts’ information was accurate – contrary to the FA's Regulation 14(d).

Clubs are required to keep the FA informed of the location of their players in order to facilitate drug-testing.

This includes providing the times of training sessions, home addresses of players or other addresses where the team may stay overnight.

Clubs must give The FA this information by 10am every Monday and, should it change during the week, the governing body has to be notified.

The FA operates a three-strikes policy over a 12-month period, with any breach triggering a charge.

No details of the specific incidents have been given but it is understood part of the charge relates to one player failing to give the club details of a new home address.

The movement of players between Eddie Howe’s first-team squad and the under-21s is also believed to have been involved.

Several members of Stephen Purches’s under-21s, who normally train at Canford Arena, have been included in sessions with Howe’s first team, which trains at Vitality Stadium.

Manchester City were yesterday fined £35,000 and warned as to their future conduct after admitting a breach of the FA's rules on anti-doping, while Fleetwood Town have also been charged.

A spokesperson for AFC Bournemouth said the club would not be commenting on the matter.

Rule 14 of The FA's anti-doping programme - club whereabouts information


(a) All clubs must furnish The FA upon request with any whereabouts information. The FA requires from time to time in respect of any players who are not IRTP (FIFA’s International Registered Testing Pool) players or NRTP (National Registered Testing Pool) players. That information shall include as a minimum:
(i) training dates;
(ii) start and finish times of training;
(iii) the address at which such training will take place; and
(iv) the home address for a player and any other address at which a player regularly resides overnight.

(b) The FA (whether through the Anti-Doping Unit or otherwise) may issue directions from time to time about:
(i) the type of whereabouts information to be submitted by clubs; and/or
(ii) the manner and time frame in which such whereabouts information
must be submitted.

(c) It shall be a breach of this regulation 14 for a club to fail to provide regular details of the times, dates and venues of the club’s training sessions in the manner directed by The FA.

(d) It shall also be a breach of this regulation 14 by the club if the information contained in such reports is either initially inaccurate or has not been updated by the club as necessary to ensure it remains accurate.