Essendon drug scandal: CAS verdict on Bombers live coverage

LATEST: ESSENDON chairman Lindsay Tanner has lashed today’s verdict as “manifestly unfair” but says the club must accept collective blame, as at least two former Bombers explore options for an appeal.

UPDATE: ESSENDON chairman Lindsay Tanner has lashed today’s verdict as “manifestly unfair” but says the club must accept collective blame, as at least two former Bombers explore options for an appeal.

Twelve current Essendon stars including skipper Jobe Watson and vice-captain Dyson Heppell have been banned until November, meaning they will miss the entire 2016 AFL season. The stunning verdict means Watson’s 2012 Brownlow Medal could also be stripped under an official review by the AFL in February. Lawyers for former Bombers Stewart Crameri and Brent Prismall are exploring options for an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal or the Victorian or NSW Supreme Court. It could be launched within days. Essendon chairman Lindsay Tanner this afternoon apologised to the players and their families on behalf of the club, but said they were being unfairly punished. HIRD: THIS IS A MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE MARK ROBINSON: PLAYERS HANDED LIFE SENTENCE DONS REACTION: ‘SICK TO MY STOMACH’ ESSENDON SAGA: HOW WE GOT HERE RITA PANAHI: AFL’S ARROGANCE BACKFIRES SPECTACULARLY’ “The penalty imposed on the 34 players is manifestly unfair,” Mr Tanner said. “At all times, our players acted in good faith. They sought assurances and were provided them. If ever there was a case to be made for a finding of no significant fault, this was it.” But he said the club also needed to accept “collective blame”. “The individual blame game that has dominated debate ... is in my view unproductive,” he said. “There was a collective systemic failing and it needs to be seen in that light.” Mr Tanner said it was too early to say whether any of the banned current players would launch legal action against the club or the AFL It comes after the The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) this morning upheld the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) appeal against the AFL tribunal decision to clear 34 players of taking the banned peptide Thymosin beta-4 in 2012. The other current Essendon players to serve immediate suspensions are Michael Hurley, Cale Hooker, Brent Stanton, Michael Hibberd, David Myers, Tayte Pears, Ben Howlett, Tom Bellchambers, Heath Hocking and Travis Colyer. Four other players now at other clubs — Port Adelaide pair Angus Monfries and Paddy Ryder, St Kilda’s Jake Carlisle and Melbourne’s Jake Melksham have also been suspended. IT’S over, AFL chief Gillon McLachlan is hoping, as the league and Essendon see the light of finality at the end of a long, dark tunnel. The Bombers’ doping scandal has proved a “stain on the game” that McLachlan said will fade over time, but Tuesday’s decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and subsequent banning of players by the World Anti-Doping Agency represents somewhat of an end. But it will not define the club, which has had its hopes for 2016 dashed in one fell swoop with a dozen players banned for use of a prohibited substance, nor will the game be tarnished long-term. “This has been a damaging period for some time,” McLachlan said. “The positive is we have, hopefully, finality and we can start the rebuild, as tough as that may be this year. “It has been a sorry stain on our game but it will not define the Essendon Football Club or our game. “This is a huge test for the leadership of the club and it’s a huge test for our industry. I’m confident with good decision making that it’ll be a test for the club, but it won’t be something that hangs around for a decade.” McLachlan conceded that the club has been significantly weakened, but called on Bombers supporters to stand with the club “at its lowest point”. He said the players had relied on an administration regime that “horribly let down” its charges. “This is a devastating decision for the past and present players of the Essendon Football Club, and the AFL feels deeply for them,” he said. “It is our view they have been horribly let down by the administration of the time but the club has sought to acknowledge what has happened and to move on from these events.” The league is disappointed by the CAS finding, AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said, and will work to support the players wherever it can in conjunction with the AFLPA. Only two members of Essendon’s leadership group remain eligible to play this season, with skipper Jobe Watson and vice-captain Dyson Heppell among the Bombers rubbed out until November this year. The AFL launched an investigation into its handling of the doping saga in February of 2014, with its results still yet to be determined almost two years on. McLachlan defended the league’s handling, commending it for “strong decisions that now look even stronger”. “I don’t (have regrets about how it was handled),” he declared. “There’s always little things — this has been going on for three years — but we acted strongly. We made strong decisions. We acted within our rules and we made a series of decisions some three years ago. They’ve been tested fully to be legal and I think certainly as you look back now, we had a 2013 finals series that is not being questioned or scrutinised because Essendon were taken out of the finals and I think there’s been a whole series of strong decisions made that now look even stronger. “This is a big, powerful club … we will work with them, as we will be working with the players, to make sure that this club is as powerful as its been for the last 140 years.” TIM Watson, the father of captain Jobe Watson, said he didn’t believe the players were guilty. “No I don’t, and I haven’t seen any compelling evidence to this point that would prove their guilt and that’s why I was really shocked by that decision this morning,” he told Seven News. “We’ve all been in shock really with the severity of this penalty, first the players were found guilty and the severity of the penalty. “It’s been going on and on - this is like four years of ASADA. “It’s painful for our family, it’s painful for the players families right across that group of players, they’re all dealing with it in different ways.” Mr Watson questioned how his son, the 2012 Brownlow medallist, could face the prospect of being stripped of his medal and of the next playing season. “He’s so ethical and he’s so moral, I mean for him, as a parent, I look at him and think, how can he be in this situation? “I spoke to him briefly today, I think he’s in shock. I think it’s too early for players to really rationalise how they think, that will happen over the next 24, 48 hours and the days and weeks ahead.” Crameri and Prismall are now at the Western Bulldogs, represented by a separate legal team to their former teammates. Grounds for an appeal must demonstrate an error of law or breach of the rules of procedural fairness. It is believed revelations in the CAS judgement that the panel was split 2-1 could be used as a basis for an appeal. The Dogs said this afternoon: “The Western Bulldogs have received a copy of the Arbitral Award delivered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport this morning. The club is intently studying the reasons for judgement insofar as they apply to Stewart Crameri and Brent Prismall.” The Swiss Federal Tribunal is the highest court in Switzerland, where the CAS is based, but because the case was heard in Australia the Supreme Court is another option for players keen to continue fighting. An appeal could involve attempts to freeze the suspensions imposed by the CAS this morning. THE AFL says it’s comfortable with the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s finding on Essendon as it announces a range of measures that will allow the Bombers to take the field in 2016. AFL chief Gillon McLachlan — who described the ruling as “devastating” for the players involved — said the league had previously discussed potential contingencies should Bombers players be suspended as he and league chairman Mike Fitzpatrick faced the media just after lunchtime today. Read the full story here >> AFL Players’ Association boss Paul Marsh insisted the players had done nothing wrong, saying he was shattered by the decision. Marsh said the players’ lawyers will conduct a thorough review of the decision. “We are struggling to understand how the CAS decision can be so different to that of the AFL anti-doping tribunal,” he said. Mr Marsh said the players were “incredibly upset, sad, angry” when they learned their fate this morning, with some left in tears. “They are an incredibly resilient group of players,” he said. “I have been dealing with them for 18 months and I have the highest regard for them but they have been through hell and back and today was just unfortunately the nail in the coffin. “I have been working in sport for nearly 20 years and it’s the most disgraceful thing I reckon I’ve seen. I just feel for the players, they don’t deserve this.” James Hird lashed the decision, calling it a “miscarriage of justice’’. Devastated by the decision, Hird told the Herald Sun: “I am shocked by this decision. “I firmly believe the players do not deserve this finding. They do not deserve to face a 12 month suspension from the sport. “This is a miscarriage of justice for 34 young men.” Nathan Lovett-Murray, one of the Essendon 34 who retired in 2013, said the decision was “bulls**t” and has vowed to appeal if possible. “We will appeal it if we can if not no footy or coaching for myself this year,” he said. Lovett-Murray’s agent Peter Jess has indicated players are considering lodging damages claims against Essendon and the AFL. Seventeen of the 34 players are either retired or delisted but still face the loss of their livelihoods in suburban leagues where many are still playing or coaching. Earlier, Mr Tanner said in a statement: “Regrettably we can confirm the Court of Arbitration for Sport has found 34 past and present players guilty of committing an anti-doping rule violation. “As a result, the players — including 12 currently listed with Essendon — have been suspended for the 2016 season. The club is currently digesting the decision and we will provide a further update later today.” In a statement, CAS found “to its comfortable satisfaction” that clause 11.2 of the 2010 AFL Doping Code (use of a prohibited substance) had been violated and found by a majority that all players were “significantly at fault”. “The 34 players concerned are sanctioned with a period of ineligibility of two years, commencing on 31 March 2015, with credit given for any individual period of ineligibility already served,” CAS said. WADA commended the CAS decision and said it “represents justice for clean athletes in Australia and worldwide”. As far as WADA was concerned, allowing the AFL anti-doping tribunal decision to clear the players due to insufficient evidence would have set “a damaging precedent” when it comes to doping. “While today’s decision represents the right result for the anti-doping community, it most importantly represents justice for clean athletes in Australia and worldwide,” WADA Director General David Howman said. “This case shows that analytical and non-analytical evidence gathered through an investigation can be successfully presented to an independent panel. “WADA is pleased that the CAS panel upheld the standards of proof set out under the World Anti-Doping Code.”. Former Essendon star Matthew Lloyd said the verdict was a nightmare for all involved. “It opens a pandora’s box — it’s Essendon’s and the AFL’s worst nightmare,” Lloyd told Channel 9. “Players have lost their careers, lost their livelihoods, the stress on the families, themselves.” He later told 3AW that he felt “sick to the stomach” about the decision. “Watson, 30 years of age, gone for one year. Do we ever see him play again?” Lloyd said. Ex-Geelong forward Cameron Mooney said his “heart breaks” for the players. “What do you say here? My heart breaks for these boys,” he said on SEN. “That is horrendous news ... I was not expecting 12 months. I thought maybe they were going to be found guilty. I thought a little bit less. I’m completely shocked.” Jason Akermanis said: “Unfortunately Jobe (Watson), has been the victim of bad management and bad coaching. “And the same goes for other players involved. “This is a big lesson for the game.’’ Jeff Kennett said the decision was a “slap in the face” to Essendon. “(The club’s) duty of care was non-existent and a slap in the face to the AFL commission and its executives.” “There must be a massive clean out. Immediately, to start fresh. “Everyone is saying there are no winners in this, I beg to differ. I hope the winner is going to be the conduct of sport, of the men and women, the administrators and the AFL. “The big message is that sports men and women have got to understand they and they alone are responsible for what they are taking and what is administered to them ... and if ever challenged they are accountable, on their own.’’ The man at the centre of the saga, former Essendon sports scientist Stephen Dank, said: “This is corruption at its highest. These guys have done nothing wrong and there is no evidence as such”. Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) boss Ben McDevitt welcomed the verdict. “This unfortunate episode has chronicled the most devastating self-inflicted injury by a sporting club in Australian history,” he said. “There were very little grounds for the players to claim they were at no significant fault. “The players had received anti-doping education through the AFL and ASADA, and were well aware that they are personally responsible for all substances that entered their body. “Unfortunately, despite their education, they agreed to be injected with a number of substances they had little knowledge of, made no inquiries about the substance and kept the injections from their team doctor and ASADA. “Of 30 ASADA testing missions during the period in question, none of the 18 players tested declared the injections, despite being asked each time whether they had taken any supplements. “At best, the players did not ask the questions, or the people, they should have. At worst, they were complicit in a culture of secrecy and concealment. “The CAS result brings this matter to a close and ASADA looks forward to continuing to work with all sporting codes to promote a clean and fair sporting environment.” Essendon has already been granted approval to recruit “top-up” players from the VFL and other state leagues to help field a team this season. Essendon begins its 2016 season against the Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium on March 26. HIRD: THIS IS A MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE MARK ROBINSON: PLAYERS HANDED LIFE SENTENCE DONS REACTION: ‘SICK TO MY STOMACH’ ESSENDON SAGA: HOW WE GOT HERE RITA PANAHI: AFL’S ARROGANCE BACKFIRES SPECTACULARLY’

Live Updates