English football has become embroiled in an anti-doping dispute which risks aggravating relationships between players and their clubs.
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Under new World Anti-Doping Agency rules ratified at the weekend, clubs must provide testers with information on a "collective basis" on their players' whereabouts.
However, it is the individual who will be punished if the information proves inaccurate.
If a Premier League club supplies UK Sport's testers with a team schedule, stating where they will be at a certain time, and a player then misses training for family or sickness reasons, he could be banned for up to two years if absent when the testers call. The suspension for anyone missing three tests will be "eight years to life".
From Jan 1, 2009, when the new regulations come into force, players will need to be meticulous in their time-keeping, which will be a challenge to some.
The arrival of drugs-testers at training grounds is a hugely sensitive issue following Rio Ferdinand's missed test in 2003, which led to an eight-month ban.
Wada's plans have been criticised by the Professional Players' Federation, who represent the Professional Footballers' Association and the Professional Cricketers' Association.
After consulting with the FA and Fifa, Wada stressed that "much of the whereabouts information filed for players will be collective 'team activity' information... and an athlete in a team sport cannot avoid responsibility by blaming the team for inaccurate information."
The PPF last week took legal advice from Michael Beloff QC over the legitimacy of Wada plans, particularly when players are "out of competition".
Wada's response was that their demands are "proportionate", pointing out that a court in Spain "upheld the validity of out-of-competition whereabouts requirements".
