Essendon face AFL probe/Players found Guilty by CAS

[Dougeytherichmondfan]

I heard on SEN today Essenden have argued they should only pay 20k due to fines already payed to the AFL.

[Stalin]

Melbourne News - January decision on Essendon supplements saga
www.melbournenews.net › index.php › sid
56 secs ago - The 34 current and former Essendon players will have their position finally resolved in mid-January ... ... around the time when the verdict is announced by the CAS, which heard the WADA appeal in.

[one-eyed]

Queries over sentencing discounts for Bombers

  Jake Niall
    The Age
    December 24, 2015 - 9:08AM

The chairman of the three-man panel deliberating on the Essendon case questioned why players should be entitled to a discount for "no significant fault" – the mechanism that can cut a suspension in half – if found guilty.

During the November hearing, the British chairman of the Court of Arbitration for Sport panel hearing the World Anti-Doping Agency appeal, Michael Beloff QC, questioned lawyers on why Essendon players should receive a "no significant fault, no significant negligence" discount – which the  Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority was at one stage willing to offer the players if they took a deal.

Beloff's comments came during the arguments on sentencing, when the players' legal team and the AFL counsel made a concerted push to have the players receive both "no significant fault, no significant negligence" if found guilty and significant reductions in penalty for  lengthy delays in the case that were beyond players' control.

The penalty for a guilty finding for this kind of doping offence is two years, but a "no significant fault" finding can reduce it to one year. Players have already served about 4 months of a provisional suspension over 2014-15, and they can receive major reductions for the delays in a case that has lasted nearly three years. There is a further discount of six months if they demonstrate co-operation with ASADA.
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Fairfax Media understands the comments of the CAS panel members suggested they were amenable to the idea that the players had been victims of delays that were outside of their control, including the Federal Court legal action taken by Essendon and then coach James Hird to have the investigation rendered unlawful.

Based on their legal advice prior to the hearing, Essendon had believed that with backdating provisions, including the provisional suspension served, the players were unlikely to miss games, even if they were found guilty.

But this seemingly presumed a "no significant fault" finding. The conduct of the hearing, and comments from the CAS panel, has some from the players' defence less confident about the outcome than they were before the AFL anti-doping tribunal that cleared all 34 players before the 2015 season.

Sentencing arguments are conducted separately from the issue of guilt and whether WADA's appeal is upheld. In other details from the five-day hearing:

■WADA made a concerted push on the evidence from a mass spectrometer reading of what it argues was thymosin beta-4 – the banned substance the players are accused of being administered – by calling a second expert from Canada, in addition to ASADA's expert witness David Handelsman, to give evidence on the "second batch" of alleged TB4. The mass spectrometer reads the molecular weight of a substance and while this was close to a match for TB4 (4971 compared with TB4's 4963, as measured by Bio21 at Melbourne University), it was only one of two batches of the substance ASADA and WADA claimed were compounded and given to Stephen Dank by chemist Nima Alavi. The CAS has to be "comfortably satisfied" TB4 was administered to specific players.

■WADA's major new evidence – the "abnormally high" readings of TB4 found in re-tested frozen urine samples from two 2012 Essendon players – was viewed as being successfully negated by the defence, which produced evidence that players from other AFL clubs also had elevated readings of TB4, which naturally occurs in the human body.

■Beloff twice made comments questioning why the players should receive a "no significant fault" discount, and on one occasion his comment was made in response to WADA's American lawyer, Richard Young.

As Fairfax Media previously reported, Beloff and the panel indicated they were troubled by the players' difficulty in explaining why they omitted to mention they had been injected with substances including 'thymosin" (including a non-banned variant) when they were questioned by drug testers during the 2012 season.

Some of the seven current and ex-Bombers players summoned to the CAS hearing were questioned by the panel on this point.

Essendon, the players' association and the AFL have long argued the players were unwitting victims of Dank's injection regime.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/essendon-bombers/afl-queries-over-sentencing-discounts-for-bombers-20151223-gludfv.html#ixzz3vBlwDXNF

[Stalin]

Like Varoufakis all over again

http://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2015/jul/06/yanis-varoufakis-resignation-statement-creditors-loathing-with-pride

[mightytiges]

I heard on SEN today Essenden have argued they should only pay 20k due to fines already payed to the AFL.

Essendon and Hird are still deluded as ever. Hird wants "facts" yet he can't tell the players what they were injected with and went to court to try and stop the ASADA investigation. Essendon say they should only pay 20k due to fines already paid to the AFL, yet Worksafe isn't the AFL and this case is about allegedly breaching OHS laws; not AFL nor ASADA/WADA rules/laws which are separate issues.

This supplement saga is the gift that keeps on giving. Next episode is on Jan 11 when the CAS final judgement is revealed.

[one-eyed]

Essendon will use top-up players if Court of Arbitration for Sport delivery guilty verdict

Lauren Wood
Herald Sun
January 8, 2016


ESSENDON​ will be granted approval to again use “top up” if Court of Arbitration for Sport deliver a guilty verdict against the Bombers 34.

The World Anti-Doping Agency​ is appealing the​ AFL Anti-Doping tribunal’s “not guilty” finding ​over allegations​ that​ 34 past and present Bombers used banned substance Thymosin beta-4 during the 2012 season.

The​ court ​could​ deliver its verdict any time from Monday after announcing last month that no decision ​w​ould be made before January 11.

The Bombers and the AFL are prepared for any scenario​ ​and the club ​​would again turn to state league​ “top up​”​ ​players if 12 remaining Bombers from the 2012 list​ were​ forced to miss matches.

The AFL Commission gave special dispensation last February for the Bombers to pay 13 VFL top up players in the NAB Challenge outside the salary cap while provisionally suspended Essendon stood out of the pre-season competition.

Twelve Bombers, including skipper Jobe Watson and vice-captain Dyson Heppell, have endured another Christmas break with the supplements saga hanging over their head.
 
Five players at other clubs — Jake Carlisle, Jake Melksham, Paddy Ryder, Angus Monfries and Stewart Crameri — could also be affected by the verdict.

Bombers chief executive Xavier Campbell last month was adamant that players wouldn’t miss any football.

“The advice to us — and we understand the AFL has supported this in its written submission to the CAS — is that with the backdating that would apply (and) the provisional suspension that has already been incurred by the players, they wouldn’t receive a sanction,” Campbell said at the club’s member forum.

“We remain confident in the players’ position and will continue to support the players, both past and present, and their families during this time.”

A “no significant fault” finding could cut a two-year sanction in half, while the provisional bans served last pre-season would be counted towards any ban.

Further discounts could be applied for the continuing delays in the case that has dragged into a fourth year.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/essendon-will-use-topup-players-if-court-of-arbitration-for-sport-delivery-guilty-verdict/news-story/dd2680862cb223f2807624aa58f566e6#load-story-comments

[WilliamPowell]

From Twitter - Tuesday is D Day

AFL Twitter

Tuesday has been confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport as the day it hands down its Essendon verdict.

[Stalin]

#standbywada

[one-eyed]

AFL player agent Peter Jess says the 34 Essendon players embroiled for almost three years in the supplements saga have suffered "immeasurable psychological impact", and civil action could be launched promptly.

Read more at: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/essendon-supplements-saga-civil-action-by-essendon-34-likely-says-player-agent-20160111-gm3amf.html

[one-eyed]

From Twitter - Tuesday is D Day

AFL Twitter

Tuesday has been confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport as the day it hands down its Essendon verdict.

8.30am is apparently when the final verdict will be announced.

[Stalin]

They'll get off

Ala OJ

[The Mole]

12 months ban guilty

[dwaino]

 

[1965]

Unexpected this was.

 

[WA Tiger]

Court of Arbitration for Sport hands down ruling on WADA’s appeal into Essendon doping allegations

THIRTY four past and present Essendon players have been found guilty of doping and have been suspended for the entire 2016 season.
12 current Essendon players, including captain Jobe Watson, and five former players now at rival clubs have been found guilty of using banned substance Thymosin beta-4 during the 2012 season.
The stunning verdict by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned the AFL anti-doping tribunal’s ruling which was later appealed by WADA.
It has been reported the CAS was comfortably satisfied there was enough evidence to suggest the players took the banned substance in 2012.
It has been reported Essendon players will still be able to appeal today’s verdict through the Swiss Federal Tribunal because the CAS is located in Lausanne, Swizerland.
Essendon chairman Lindsay Tanner confirmed the verdict in a short statement issued by the club.
“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,” Tanner said.
“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.”
The 12 banned current Essendon players are reportedly Watson, Dyson Heppel, Michael Hurley, Cale Hooker, Brent Stanton, Michael Hibberd, David Myers, Tayte Pears, Ben Howlett, Tom Bellchambers, Heath Hocking and Travis Colyer.
Jake Carlisle (St Kilda), Jake Melksham (Melbourne), Paddy Ryder (Port Adelaide), Angus Monfries (Port Adelaide) and Stewart Crameri (Western Bulldogs) have been identified as the five players at rival clubs that were on Essendon’s playing roster for the 2012 season.
It has been reported Essendon has received permission from the AFL to recruit “top-up” players from outside the AFL to re-build its list and compete in 2016.
WADA initially appealed the ruling through the CAS in a hearing in Sydney in November.
It has been reported Essendon players and staff have come together at the club to hear the verdict — except for the 12 current players directly involved.
Those 12 players have also gathered together at a secret location in Melbourne, according to The Herald Sun.
The club is yet to release any official communication, but did post its support for the players on social media.

Dons coach John Worsfold last week described the morale within his team as a mix of anxiousness and relief.
“What we’ve talked a lot about is that they (the players) have no control so let’s focus on what we can control, but that doesn’t take away any anxiety that they may feel,” Worsfold said.
“We’ve got people around the club that have constantly kept the players informed and talked to them and will be on hand next week as well.”
The club also released a statement last week confirming it expects a verdict on Tuesday.
“Essendon Football Club can confirm the 34 players, past and present, have been advised that a decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport will be handed down on the morning of Tuesday January 12,” the statement said.

http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/court-of-arbitration-for-sport-hands-down-ruling-on-wadas-appeal-into-essendon-doping-allegations/news-story/2c97065ed9edb5f912170232eb8ec86d