AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has declared show cause notices issued to players involved in Essendon’s supplements scandal to be “nothing more than allegations”.
ASADA issued 34 notices to players on Thursday afternoon after a 17-month investigation into the Bombers’ 2012 supplements program.
Those notices are the first step in a lengthy process which could take months, or longer given the threat of legal challenges.
In interviews with Melbourne radio station 3AW and ABC local radio on Friday morning, McLachlan said this was just the beginning.
“It’s essentially a proposition, an allegation to which they have to respond,” he said.
“It’s just the start of a long process, it’s not an indication of guilt.”
McLachlan, who confirmed he was unaware of the notices until they were made public, admitted his frustrations with the process.
He also conceded it impact the AFL season.
“This is unsatisfactory that I can’t comment, as soon as I can I will, at the moment I hope you understand I can’t,” he said.
McLachlan, who took over from Andrew Demetriou last week, also clarified players who received the notices are still able to play.
He added he felt for the players involved.
“As (ASADA chief executive) Ben McDevitt has said, the process and the time of it specifically has been very difficult for the players and I have great empathy,” he said.
McLachlan also said there was one certainty about the process.
“Everyone is sick of it, there is absolutely no doubt about that,” he said.
“Even the chief executive of ASADA said this morning it has gone on too long.”
The cases will go to the independent Anti-Doping Rule Violation Panel (ADRVP) to be tested, with affected players and officials given the opportunity to make submissions.
If the ADRVP decides someone has potentially committed an anti-doping rule violation, his name goes into the Register Of Findings, which triggers the AFL Tribunal to administer the appropriate bans under the world anti-doping code.
But legal action could be taken at each step along the way, slowing the process.
Essendon chairman Paul Little is expected to respond on Friday afternoon to the show cause notices.
Little addressed the issue in a letter to Essendon members earlier in the day, before news broke of the ASADA action.
“Our players are still carrying the heavy burden of continued speculation in the media with no concrete timetable for the ASADA process to conclude – this has been incredibly frustrating for us all,” he wrote.
“However, I can confirm we are exploring all legal options for our players in the unlikely event they receive show cause letters from ASADA.”
ASADA chief executive officer Ben McDevitt said his decision to issue notices was based on a considerable body of evidence collected throughout their investigation.
“Following the conclusion of joint interviews with the AFL in mid-2013, ASADA continued to accumulate evidence to establish a possible violation,” he said in a statement issued early on Friday morning.
He also told ABC radio: “I am satisfied that a potential violation or possible violation of our anti-doping code has occurred.
McDevitt said he had reached the conclusion based on advice from legal counsel and a review of the evidence by former Federal Court justice Garry Downes, who helped wrap up ASADA’s investigation earlier this year.
If proven, the anti-doping charges could result in suspensions that would end some players’ careers.
On Thursday night Tim Watson, the father of Essendon captain Jobe, said the players were in “real shock” and suggested the process was still two or three years from a conclusion.
The AFL handed down its punishment for the supplements regime on the eve of last year’s finals series, kicking them out of the finals and suspending coach James Hird for 12 months, among other punishments.
Investigator Ziggy Switkowski reported “a disturbing picture of a pharmacologically experimental environment never adequately controlled or challenged or documented within the club”.