Former ASADA chief executive Richard Ings has urged the body to respect the ruling of the AFL’s anti-doping tribunal and not appeal the not guilty verdict received by 34 past and present Essendon players.
The long-running investigation into the AFL club’s 2012 supplements saga reached a climax on Tuesday when chairman David Jones said the tribunal was not comfortably satisfied that any player was administered Thymosin Beta-4 or breached clause 11.2 of the AFL Anti-Doping Code.
Both ASADA and world anti-doping body WADA have the opportunity to appeal but Ings cautioned current chief executive Ben McDevitt against further lengthening the saga.
“ASADA must be in crisis looking at this decision, they’ve got to make a call whether they will appeal or not,” Ings told Melbourne radio station SEN.
“I’m sure that ASADA will be in lockdown this afternoon.
“Having listened to that statement from Ben McDevitt, you’ve got to imagine they’re more likely to appeal, than not to appeal.
“But I think it’s important that ASADA respect the decision of this tribunal.
“This is an experienced panel, they gave fair hearing to the parties.
“And if ASADA disagrees with the legal framework or the review of the facts from the tribunal then of course they have an opportunity to appeal.
“But that is a big call.”
McDevitt has called a press conference for 11am (AEDT) on Wednesday in Canberra, where it is expected to announce its decision on whether to appeal.
Ings said successful appeals can and did occur, but this was an “emphatic ruling” given after a long and fair hearing.
And without a positive test, ASADA was unlikely to be successful.
“ASADA, in prosecuting these kind of cases, needs reliable evidence,” he said.
“In the absence of a positive test, ASADA will successfully prosecute around 30 per cent of its cases.
“It is done and it is done commonly.”
“But in these 34 cases, the evidence presented failed to convince the tribunal to its comfortable satisfaction that an anti-doping rule violation occurred.”
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