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The AFL has started anti-doping action against 34 current and past Essendon players over the club’s supplements scandal.
The league sent infraction notices to the players late on Friday, relating the alleged use of the banned substance Thymosin beta-4 two years ago at Essendon.
It is understood the AFL anti-doping tribunal, under retired County Court judge David Jones, will hold a directions hearing next Tuesday.
The league wasted little time issuing the notices a day after the national Anti-Doping Rule Violation Panel (ADRVP) placed the 34 players on the register of findings.
That cleared the way for the league to issue the infraction notices.
If found guilty, the players face bans of up to two years.
It is the biggest anti-doping case in Australian sporting history.
News of the infraction notices ends a landmark week in the supplements saga.
On Monday and Tuesday, Essendon coach James Hird was back in court to appeal against September’s devastating Federal Court ruling.
He is fighting the verdict from Justice John Middleton that the joint ASADA-AFL investigation into the Essendon supplements program was lawful.
If Hird’s appeal is successful, it is unclear what affect that could have on the anti-doping procedures against the 34 players.
One of the aims of Hird’s appeal is to make ASADA re-start its investigation into Essendon.
On Wednesday, Essendon and Mark Thompson also officially parted ways after weeks of speculation about his future.
Thompson was interim senior coach this season as Hird served a 12-month AFL suspension.
That ban was among several penalties that the AFL handed down in August last year.
The current anti-doping action is separate to those AFL penalties.
The AFL also fined Thompson $30,000 last August, but he has so far refused to pay.
ASADA issued amended show-cause notices to the players last month and that led to the players going onto the register of findings.
Now the AFL has quickly taken the next step, meaning the players will soon go before the tribunal.
The AFL Players Association had already said the 34 current and past Bombers would not contest the show cause notices.
In a statement released on Thursday, players association chief executive Paul Marsh said they hoped the AFL would decide quickly whether to issue the infraction notices.
The AFL cannot comment at this stage on the process.
The 34 anonymous players are now under provisional suspension.
But there was speculation on Friday that the AFL could make exceptions for Essendon captain Jobe Watson and Dustin Fletcher if they have been served with infraction notices.
Watson and Fletcher are in the Australian squad for the November 22 international rules Test against Ireland in Perth.
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