The AFL makes no apologies for measures taken to ensure players with illicit substances in their systems do not take part in matches, following allegations of secret drug testing that allowed some individuals to avoid detection.
Federal MP Andrew Wilkie briefed Parliament on Tuesday about allegations made by former Melbourne club doctor Zeeshan Arain, former Demons president Glen Bartlett and Shaun Smith, father of Melbourne player and alleged drug dealer Joel Smith .
Wilkie said the trio had alleged that players who tested positive had faked injuries and withdrew from games to avoid match-day testing by Sports Integrity Australia (SIA), and that the test results were “unrecorded.” “were never shared with SIA or the world. Anti-Doping Agency (AMA).
The AFL responded with a statement on Wednesday, declaring that “a commitment to player welfare” is at the core of its illicit drug policy.
AFL boss Andrew Dillon is pictured addressing the media on Wednesday after the league was rocked by explosive allegations made in parliament.
Federal MP Andrew Wilkie presented statements from whistleblowers who accused clubs and the league of hiding secret drug test results from anti-doping authorities.
The league said it is working with the AFL Players’ Association to improve the system, designed to change player behaviour.
“We make no apologies for the club and AFL doctors taking the correct steps to ensure that any player they believe has an illicit substance in their system does not participate in any AFL match and is maintained and respected the confidentiality of the doctor-patient,” the statement says. .
“The medical interests and welfare of players are a priority for the AFL given everything we know about the risks faced by young people in general and those who play our game in particular.”
The AFL’s illicit drug policy was implemented in 2005 and the league said urine testing has been part of the model “for some time”.
“Doctors can use these urine tests to obtain an immediate result that determines whether any illicit substances remain in a player’s system,” the statement said.
The father of Melbourne Demons star Joel Smith (pictured), accused of trafficking cocaine after allegedly testing positive for the drug, provided a statement to Wilkie.
“If the test shows that there is still a substance in the player’s system, a doctor will take steps to prevent a player from participating in training and/or an AFL match, both for his or her own health and well-being and because he or she has illicit substances. in your system. on match day it may be… a breach of the Australian Football Anti-Doping Code.’
The league’s stance was revealed when a leading sports doctor claimed AFL clubs fake injuries to players so they are not caught with illegal substances in their systems on game day.
Dr. Peter Larkin believes many people around the league are aware of this practice.
“This was a system deliberately set up to help players get out of the system if they got caught up in social drug use,” he told Nova’s Jase & Lauren radio show on Wednesday.
“A player who was worried he was going to test positive could come to me as the club doctor and say, ‘Oh, wow, look, I was at a big party on Thursday night and you know what, I might have taken things.’ “Do you know what I’m going to do?”
Prominent sports doctor Peter Larkin (pictured) claims AFL clubs fake injuries to players to avoid being arrested with drugs in their system on match day.
“So, as your doctor, I’m trying to help you get off drugs so I can see if you get tested, but what really got complicated was that the club doctor was allowed to stop the player from playing.”
“They would be treated or they would hurt their hamstring in training.”
Wilkie described Arain, Bartlett and Smith’s “deeply disturbing allegations of egregious misconduct within the AFL” as credible and detailed, and provided signed statements clearly identifying the sources of the documents.
“The allegations include the prevalence of drug abuse and other prohibited behavior across the AFL, unrecorded drug testing of players at Dorevitch Pathology in Heidelberg, facilitated by former AFL medical director Peter Harcourt, the rest of players giving positive in these secret tests, apparently due to injury, the deliberate inaction of AFL president Richard Goyder and former chief executive Gill McLachlan and the dismissal of Mr Bartlett as Melbourne president after he suggested Messrs. Goyder and McLachlan that AFL officials were regularly “He has been drug tested,” Wilkie told Parliament on Tuesday night.
“If there are no illegal drugs in the player’s system, he is free to play, and if there are drugs in his system, the player is often asked to fake an injury,” Wilkie said.
‘They are advised to lie about a condition, while unofficial test results are kept secret and never shared with Sports Integrity Australia or WADA.
Wilkie used parliamentary privilege to claim the AFL is ‘secretly rigging’ games by withholding drug test results (file image)
“In other words, hundreds of thousands of Australians will watch the match without knowing that it has been secretly manipulated by the AFL, and thousands of Australians will bet on that match without knowing that it has been secretly manipulated by the AFL.”
Wilkie said Arain alleged it was not a club-specific problem but an “AFL problem” with several players coming to the Demons with pre-existing cocaine dependencies.
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin on Wednesday denied knowledge of the alleged secret tests and that players faked injuries and said the Demons would ask the AFL for more information.
“All the clubs are now interested in knowing more,” he stated.
‘Everyone in the club world would want answers and understand how politics works. We are not different.’