One positive to come out of the Rio Ferdinand drugs case was that no player would miss taking a dope test again, Football Association (FA) chief executive Mark Palios said on Sunday.

"After this case, I don't think any club will allow a player to miss a drugs test again," Palios told the News of the World newspaper in an interview.

England international Ferdinand was given an eight-month ban by an independent disciplinary commission earlier this month for missing a drugs test.

The Manchester United defender had been charged by the Football Association (FA) with a "failure or refusal" to take the test at United's training ground at Carrington on September 23.

"I didn't feel pleased or vindicated (about the decision). I actually felt quite sad because I know, up until now, football has been the loser," Palios said.

"But if there has been a positive in what has been a difficult year it is that we are at last on the right road."

Ferdinand passed the test 36 hours after he should have taken the original one.

The FA, which was widely criticised for its handling of the affair, ruled him out of England's final Euro 2004 qualifier in Turkey on October 11.

Ferdinand's exclusion from the game in Istanbul prompted threats of an unprecedented strike by his England team mates. England drew the match 0-0 to qualify for the tournament finals.

"I've got this reputation as a hardliner ... but it's not true. This is about consensus - I want to draw a line under the Ferdinand case and move on," Palios said.

"I hope it is understood that we had picked Rio for the Turkey game, the Association and the England team would have been compromised.

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