Rio Ferdinand today pleaded his case in front of English FA chiefs as he was left to await a decision on whether he faces a misconduct charge for failing to take a drugs test.
Ferdinand, who was accompanied by Professional Footballer's Association (PFA) chief executive Gordon Taylor, spent two hours locked in a meeting in Manchester with FA head of compliance Steve Barrow.
The England defender is expected to be charged by the FA later this week, but was attempting to persuade the governing body not to hit him with the most serious charge of wilfully missing the test.
In a statement released by Manchester United, Ferdinand declared: "In accordance with the FA procedures and timetable, I participated today in an FA interview and provided the association with a full and detailed explanation of my failure to take a random test on September 23rd.
"My explanation dealt with a number of issues, including the reasons why I failed to attend the test and my attempts to rectify the situation with a test that same day.
"I also reiterated my condemnation of drugs in sport." Ferdinand has argued that he forgot to take the test as he was moving house, but contacted the FA later in the day in a bid to put matters right.
The UK Sport drug-testers had nevertheless already left Manchester United's Carrington training base and it was two days later before the centre-back was able to take - and pass - another test.
That, however is not still expected to save him from a charge of missing an anti-doping test as the only defence is not having been informed in the first place and, by forgetting, Ferdinand does not have that excuse.
It could nevertheless ensure that he does not face the more serious charge of wilfully missing a drugs test, which carries the potential sanction of a two-year suspension.
The FA wanted to consider their next step overnight, with a decision not expected until tomorrow at the earliest in a controversy which led to the England squad threatening to boycott last weekend's Euro 2004 qualifier in Turkey.
While the governing body therefore made no statement, players' union chief Taylor revealed that Ferdinand had provided a "full and detailed explanation".
Taylor, who has been warned by the FA that he could even face legal action from them if he continues to accuse them of breaching Ferdinand's confidentiality, added:
"The due process has begun today. "We are where we are. We attempt to maintain confidentiality until the due process has been followed.
"Once the decision is taken to leave him out of the (England) squad, it was inevitable that he would be named and that has happened, so I would hope that would be taken into consideration with what Rio's got to say.
"I, for one, know that he has already suffered a penalty in having his name castigated all over the world on the front of every newspaper and being condemned for drugs when he's made his position very clear on drugs.
"He's never tested positive and he does specifically work in inner-city areas and does speak to youngsters about the dangers of getting into crime and drugs.