AFL 2024: Melbourne footballer Joel Smith accused of cocaine trafficking

The failed drugs test probe into Melbourne’s Joel Smith has taken a dramatic turn, with anti-doping investigators accusing the Demon of cocaine trafficking. See how the AFL responded.

Anti-doping investigators have accused Melbourne footballer Joel Smith of cocaine trafficking in a dramatic escalation of his failed drugs test probe.

After reviewing his phone, Sport Integrity Australia officials have uncovered multiple text messages sent by Smith referencing cocaine.

In one message to Demons teammates last year, he ­offered them a quantity of the drug, it is alleged.

This masthead has not confirmed how many Melbourne players the SMS was sent to, or the amount of ­cocaine he offered.

SIA has asserted to Smith that he has violated several anti-doping rules and asked him to respond by mid-March, before it delivers a finding.

The league is understood to be awaiting the outcome of the SIA probe, with the case potentially going to an AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal.

Allegations and evidence could also be referred to police.

Melbourne Demons forward Joel Smith in September last year. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

The AFL put out a statement on Tuesday, after the Herald Sun revealed the bombshell development.

“The AFL confirms that further Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) have been asserted against Joel Smith of the Melbourne Football Club under the Australian Football Anti-Doping Code,” the statement said.

“Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) has notified Smith that three ADRVs for “Trafficking or Attempted Trafficking” of Cocaine to third parties are asserted against him. Under the Code, Trafficking in an anti-doping context is relevantly defined to be ‘Selling, giving, transporting, sending, delivering or distributing a Prohibited Substance, by an Athlete ... to any third party’...”

Smith would continue to be provisionally suspended pending the finalisation of the case, the AFL said.

“Under the Code, the new asserted ADRVs will be further investigated by SIA and these matters may ultimately be heard by an AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal in the coming months,” it said.

Smith, 27, was already facing a suspension of two years after testing positive to ­cocaine on a game day late last season.

He was initially hoping for a ban of three months after his positive urine sample was collected when the Demons ­defeated Hawthorn by 27 points at the MCG in round 23.

But the ramifications for Smith could now be much more serious, with a potential four-year ban mooted, while Melbourne also faces questions.

Smith’s management and legal teams ­declined to comment.

Smith has been accused of cocaine trafficking by anti-doping investigators. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos

A SIA spokesman said the agency would not comment on “operational matters”.

One source close to the probe said Smith should not be “scapegoated” over what they asserted was a wider club issue.

“It looks like they are planning to hang Joel out to dry for behaviour that is commonplace at Melbourne,” the source said.

“It is not unusual for a group of young men who party ­together to share drugs. Joel might be foolish but he’s hardly Tony Mokbel.

“The club should be taking responsibility for what is happening to Joel instead of blaming him in order to cover up a much wider problem. Joel is not a bad apple in a barrel of clean ones – the whole joint is rotten.”

The latest of several off-field blows to Melbourne comes more than three years after former president Glen Bartlett raised concerns with the club board about its culture.

Crisis talks were held with AFL commission chairman Richard Goyder and ex-league boss Gillon McLachlan, but Bartlett was forced out by the board in April 2021.

Former Demons president Glen Bartlett. Picture: Adam Trafford/AFL Media

The club also showed its long-time doctor Zeeshan Arain the door after he raised concerns.

Demons chief executive Gary Pert recently claimed the club’s culture was “the best I’ve seen in 40 years”. His comment came amid significant concerns about Smith’s positive test and the behaviour of teammate Clayton Oliver.

Star midfielder Oliver recently avoided a criminal conviction after being caught driving while his licence was suspended. A court heard he had been suspended after being hospitalised for a seizure, but he had not opened the letter to inform him.

In December, Oliver’s sudden departure from a pre-season camp in Lorne led to a long absence from the club given as being for personal reasons. The four-time best-and-fairest winner returned only three weeks ago.

Smith, the son of Dees high-flyer Shaun Smith, has played 42 games since he was signed as a rookie in 2016.

Originally published as AFL 2024: Melbourne footballer Joel Smith accused of cocaine trafficking