The systemic failures that let footballers on drugs play on. Plus, The Great VAR Conspiracy unmasked!

Mailbag! Also contains: What's in it for Jim Ratcliffe at Man United? Plus, multi-club ownership can't be stopped

Welcome to the latest edition of the Q&A, where you, the subscribers, pose the Qs and I’ll be trying come up with straight As.

Anyone can ask a question - you can even message me at any time if you are using the Substack app - but only paid subscribers get to see all the answers.

This time, we’re talking about doping in team sports (which might not be as rare as you think); Jim Ratcliffe’s intentions at Manchester United and the dark heart of the VAR debate.

The first question today comes from Gareth Rhys Owen, who writes:

I’m interested in why players in team sports (specifically rugby and football) rarely fail drugs tests. My presumption is that the testing regimes are not as strict, as the benefits [in cheating] are obvious. Or is there an anti-doping culture in these sports, and so are there fewer cheats?

Well, Gareth….