Essendon doctor Bruce Reid says he was marginalised and kept in the dark over the AFL club’s controversial 2012 supplements program.
Dr Reid has taken the AFL to the Victorian Supreme Court in a bid to have an independent panel hear his charge of bringing the game into disrepute.
His barrister Ross Gillies QC told the court on Thursday that the AFL Commission had failed in their obligation to give him natural justice and a hearing without bias.
Mr Gillies said Essendon’s settlement with the AFL of charges against the club made it clear that Dr Reid was not involved in creating or administering the program.
“Essendon Football Club admit to failing to involve any of its key medical staff in its supplements program,” Mr Gillies said.
“(Dr Reid’s) case is that he was marginalised and that what was happening was going on without his knowledge.”
After intense negotiations the AFL Commission last month kicked Essendon out of this season’s finals, fined the club $2 million and docked them draft picks over the supplements program.
In addition it suspended coach James Hird for 12 months, banned football manager Danny Corcoran for four months and fined assistant coach Mark Thompson $30,000.
But Dr Reid declined to settle on a penalty and opted to take his case to court.
Mr Gillies said the settlement reached with the club and the other officials was not fair as it included admissions by the club which were not accepted by Dr Reid.
“It is the equivalent of being led through Federation Square in chains, moaning an apology,” he said.
He said AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick and CEO Andrew Demetriou had shown a “hunger for conviction” which “cuts across the notion of fair play”.
Mr Gillies said the commission was effectively the investigator, prosecutor, judge and jury in the case against Essendon.
Justice David Beach asked AFL barrister Jeff Gleeson SC why the commission would not simply allow an independent body to hear the case.
Mr Gleeson said the commission took its role of upholding the AFL’s rules seriously.
He said the commission had played no part in the investigation of Essendon, or the drafting of the charges.
The case will be heard in full on September 19.
Mr Gillies said it would be pointless trying to mediate a settlement, as days of negotiations last month had proved fruitless.
Justice Beach urged both parties to consider their positions before the hearing, saying it was a “once in a generation case”.