ASADA has rejected a request from the AFL Players’ Association to speed up the anti-doping case against 34 current and past Essendon players.

The anti-doping authority’s chief executive Ben McDevitt said the body would not be dictated to by anyone.

“In the six months I have been at ASADA I have had the club, the coach, the AFL Players’ Association, various other legal entities, plus other interested parties all voice their views as to the management of these matters,” McDevitt said in a statement.

“While all claim to represent the interest of the players and/or Australian sport, the advice as to remedial actions varies dramatically.

“In my role as protector of clean athletes in Australia, my advice to them is that if they want to act in the best interest of the players they should review the 12,000 pages of evidence and follow the due process.

“I only wish that such interest in player welfare had been present in 2012.”