The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority will not appeal the not guilty findings against 34 past and present Essendon players but has urged the world anti-doping body to take the matter direct to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
ASADA has said it will not appeal the case of the players, nor the not guilty findings made against Stephen Dank – who was found guilty on 10 charges – because any appeal would remain within the AFL framework.
ASADA chief executive Ben McDevitt hinted at a lack of trust in the AFL system by saying any appeal by ASADA would “ultimately serve only to delay consideration of these matters” and deny WADA an immediate chance to take the case to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The World Anti-Doping Agency now has 21 days to decide if it will appeal the case. A WADA appeal is taken directly to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, not the AFL appeals board.
“As with all other decisions I have made in these matters this decision has largely been informed by comprehensive legal advice,” McDevitt said.
“I am conscious that ASADA does not have a direct right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the only appeal avenue open to ASADA at this time is to the AFL anti-doping appeals tribunal.
“I am also aware that appealing any of these decisions within the AFL framework would ultimately serve only to delay consideration of these matters by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
“I have therefore arranged to provide the entire case file encompassing all 35 matters to WADA for its independent review. This is in accordance with global anti-doping protocols. WADA will then be able to make an independent decision as to whether to exercise its appeal options.
“ASADA will support any WADA initiated appeal in relation to these matters.”
McDevitt said that he wanted the findings of the tribunal to be made public. ASADA had been one of the parties arguing that the tribunal hearings be held in camera.
“In the interests of transparency, I would welcome the fullest possible release of the tribunal’s findings and reasons on all of these matters,” McDevitt said.
The push for WADA to take up the case comes after McDevitt expressed disappointment at the finding of the AFL anti-doping tribunal and criticised Essendon’s behaviour in 2012 as “utterly disgraceful”.
“What happened at Essendon in 2012 was, in my opinion, absolutely and utterly disgraceful. It was not a supplements program but an injection regime and the players and the fans were so poorly let down by the club,” McDevitt said at the time the players were found not guilty.
“While I am obviously disappointed that the charges in this instance have not been proven to the comfortable satisfaction of the tribunal, I am pleased that the tribunal was able to finally hear these matters.”
