All 34 past and present players associated with the Essendon Football Club have been found NOT GUILTY on all charges levelled against them by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.
An independent Tribunal today handed down the verdict at AFL House, clearing all players, and in doing so cited that there was insufficient evidence to support ASADA’s claims that the players were systemically being injected with the banned drug Thymosin beta-4 during the club’s controversial 2012 supplements program.
The verdict brings a bookend to a drawn-out saga that began 785 days ago.
The 18 players that remain at Essendon, as well as former Bombers Stewart Crameri (now at the Western Bulldogs), Paddy Ryder and Angus Monfries (both at Port Adelaide) are free to line up for their clubs in their round 1 clashes this coming weekend.
ASADA, and the world body WADA now have 21 days to file an appeal to the AFL Tribunal’s verdict.
The players have been serving provisional suspensions since late last year, and had deliberately sat out pre-season games in the past month.
But now, with a not guilty verdict, over 2 years of turmoil is finally at an end, and the focus purely on football can return.
As for ASADA, serious questions must now be levelled at an organisation that held an iron fist over the game for two years, only to have a nil result returned. Too much time, and far too much taxpayer money, has been wasted on a fruitless investigation that all began with the now infamous “Darkest Day in Australian Sport” press conference over two years ago.
The appeals process begins now for ASADA.
The Essendon Football Club’s list – in full – begins its preparations to take on the Sydney Swans this coming Saturday afternoon.
Photo: Michael Dodge via Getty Images.
