A year-long government investigation has found widespread use of banned drugs in Australian professional sport and links with organised crime.
The Australian Crime Commission released the findings of a 12-month investigation into the integrity of Australian sport and the relationship between professional sporting bodies, prohibited substances and organised crime.
>> Read the full report here (PDF).
It said the links may have resulted in match-fixing and fraudulent manipulation of betting markets.
The key findings of the investigation identified widespread use of prohibited substances including peptides, hormones and illicit drugs in professional sport.
It said that in some cases players were being administered with substances that have not yet been approved for human use.
The ACC also identified organised crime identities and groups that are involved in the distribution of PIEDS (Performance and Image Enhancing Drugs), to athletes and professional sports stars.
The ACC report noted increasing evidence of personal relationships of concern between professional athletes and organised criminal identities and groups.
“The ACC has found that professional sport in Australia is highly vulnerable to infiltration by organised crime. Multiple athletes from a number of clubs in major Australian sporting codes are suspected of currently using or having used peptides,” Justice Minister Jason Clare said in a statement.
The report concluded that some coaches, sports scientists and support staff of elite athletes have orchestrated and/or condoned the use of prohibited substances.
Some sports scientists have indicated a willingness to administer substances to elite athletes which are untested or not yet approved for human use.
The ACC said illicit drug use by professional athletes was more prevalent than had been indicated by sports drugs testing programs.
The report found that organised crime had an expanding role in providing banned substances to athletes, and this was facilitated by some coaches and support staff.
The head of the AFL Players’ Association say it’s possible organised crime has infiltrated the AFL.
“You know organised crime have infiltrated gyms and provision of various kinds of supplements and substances which aid performance,” Players’ Association boss Matt Finnis said.
The ACC has referred its findings of suspected criminal activity to the Australian Federal Police and state police forces.
The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and other regulatory agencies will undertake more investigations on the basis of the findings.
Clare said one possible case of match-fixing was already under investigation, though he did not identify the sport.
“The findings are shocking and will disgust Australian sports fans,” Clare said.
Federal sports minister Kate Lundy said the government was moving to introduce tough new measures to crack down on the use of banned drugs and unethical behaviour in sport.
“Today is about the integrity of sport in Australia,” Lundy said.
“… If you want to dope and cheat, we will catch you. If you want to fix a match, we will catch you. And as you can see by the investigations that have taken place, that we are well on the way to seeking out and hunting down those who will dope and cheat.”
Lundy had introduced legislation this week to strengthen ASADA’s investigative powers and doubled its investigative resources.
“If persons of interest refuse to cooperate with ASADA investigations they will be liable for civil penalties,” she said.
The Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports (COMPPS) has agreed to several measures to assist the crackdown.
The Coalition represents all the major sporting organisations in Australia, including the AFL, NRL, FFA, ARU and Cricket Australia.
The individual bodies are to:
* Establish integrity units to deal with doping, betting and ethical issues.
* Cooperate with ASADA and law enforcement agencies in a joint-investigation.
* Call on their athletes to come forward and own up to wrongdoing and cooperate with investigators to possibly reduce sanctions.
* Enact a multi-code policy to share information and implement doping sanctions across codes.
* Have zero tolerance for any support staff involved in pedaling inappropriate substances and help ensure they are not employed in other codes
– With AAP
Aljay
Guest
Ouch. When one of their best players is 'injured in warm-ups' that doesn't look good.
Aljay
Guest
Was that the one about lack of testing at amatuer/park footy level? Yeah remember that one, well done.
WoobliesFan
Guest
Lote the pants man huh....I don't doubt it. I spent many a Fri & Sat night back in the very early 2000s nightclubbing in that legendary establishment called Hotel LA on Caxton St, Brisbane. I would witness Lote and the Broncos (Sailor, Berrigan, Harrison, etc) cut through that places like marauding Vikings....no female stood a chance (not that they minded)....lol
WoobliesFan
Guest
BCAAs & Creatine Vs GH, Deca and Winny The former is good, the latter is God-like But you know that Oikee.
WoobliesFan
Guest
Thanks for sharing...good read, but nothing new. I'd say 80-90% of all athletes in the NFL are on dugs....test, insulin, GH. I'd say 50-60% of all Aussie sportsman in Rugb/league/afl are on drugs or have used the.....Sus 250, Cypionate,whatever....too easy too get, too easy to use and the results are fantastic.....bravo!
sheek
Roar Guru
Yeah Coxinator, People before their time are never fully appreciated. It now seems you were on the money.....
Von Neumann
Roar Guru
You will know when you're doping program is working, James - its when you start winning matches..... btw, afl already match-fix, except they call it Tanking, and its to gain draft picks, and it makes a mockery of their later season. I remember one game a few years back with Fremantle playing, and I swear it was a contest of who could be the worst on the ground. They were literally passing the ball to each other at one stage - no one wanted to win....of course the NRL did have criminal match fixing, orchestrated by one Ryan Tandy, who they got rid of pretty quickly and it was just one game. They'd been tracking Tandy for months. So no one should be surprised by these findings, nor why we are the best sporting country in the world per capita - we take the best drugs, at the right times...and ONLY fix matches for good purposes like securing a draft pick.....and in Tandy's case, I think he wanted to help his mother with an operation.....not kidding, it was some benign aim.....this will be forgotten about soon enough, and once we gut and quarter all the cheaters we can get back to our sport, with the illusion of real competition.....I mean, come on....the AFL has a draw, draft, and financial system specifically designed to help sydney, brisbane, gold coast, and 2 sydney teams - one of whom who no one watches, and the other of whom took 30+ years and a rugby league civil war to get a slither of popularity (50k watching on tv after 30 years usually) My bold claim is that to go back to back in the AFL, it requires drugs and luck (get right draft picks at right times, or at least the ones brisbane, gold coast and sydney didn't rob you of automatically), and in the NRL it takes the least amount of injuries and a stroke of luck...like a CEO who will rort the salary cap, or a coach who is a freak for finding new tactics like the chicken wing and the "grapple tackle".....and a decent wrestling coach......omg Am I surprised by the drug/match-fixing scandal? No. And If Telstra pull our 180 million dollar sponsorship, they will be the biggest hypocrites on earth. They are the biggest rorters going round.
Wanderer
Guest
Why so defensive Redb? Let the dominoes fall, Afl club by Afl club.
Von Neumann
Roar Guru
All we know for certain is this: Drug use didn't help Essendon very much, and whats worse - it may be too late to change dealers....
Von Neumann
Roar Guru
I think heaps of skeletons will come out, stretching back years
Von Neumann
Roar Guru
Shane warne was my last naive impressions of a time where australian sport was mostly innocent - not shane himself, this is not a character attack, but our allowance of him doing what he often did because "he was good." its like we started dropping standards, and his skill was his justification. Then Glen mcgrath came along with sledging to the Nth degree. And then match fixing, and illegal betting - players getting out for a cheque, rodney howe, the list goes on. There is too much tied to sport now, this win at all costs attitude goes beyond the rules of the games they play in. The sport consumes their lives now, and I am not just talking about time spent doing it - it consumes everything and alters every tangent and moment. How about organised crime in world soccer and entire teams on drugs. We cant just justify trying to release disappointment and our increased disrespect of the players/teams by saying "now we are just like everyone else" and find solace there. Its no good just to belong to a bunch of cheaters like everyone else. To me, this is the final innocent day of Australian sport. Its up there with the talk of the impetus for the Bosman Ruling in soccer, the hand of god goal, the awarding of quataar the world cup and the rorting in world soccer via the arm of its world governing body.... It IS distrurbing. But, my good friend Sheek, something that is even more disturbing, is that these players will continue to be hailed as role models by much of the youth and looked up to, envied and respected widely. We are outside morals here; we must not align these things with religious-taught beliefs. We need to understand what you are alluding to - that we are just cretins too, we are just win-hungry back-stabbers and we don't give a rats....we must accept that these people are just talented scum like anyone else. And thats attractive to 99.8% of people. Look, its one thing to be like that - but the problem here seems to be organised crime sinking its teeth into sport. Gambling is one thing, its a legal activity most of the time....but gangsters? Just the thought of people within the NRL, AFL, crickets, Union, FFA, whoever *knowing* contacts from organised crime, its beyond the joke. I never knew we could sink so low. You are who you associate with, and to me this is the lowest our sports have ever gone. This is even more "less-sports-man-like" than chappels under arm bowling, which gave me a laugh every 5 times I saw it. I will forever wear a scowl about this drugs incident. The worst thing to me about that is Demitriou covering up players testing positive by laying them off and saying "its an injury" not "a drug suspension". Are not those in charge of these sports to blame too? Demi-down because he covers up and enables, and the NRL who have a no-tolerance system in place for not being more effective (no matter how unfair that may be).....and sport in general. If only this whole thing will spur oz sport onto great heights from such a low depth.
Von Neumann
Roar Guru
Because its not something you talk about. Everyone likes to get ahead, and eveyone likes it to be known "they did it" through their natural ability - thats the link to the ego -- the highway to pleasure and glory. Plus, talking about it would be like giving yourself up; and these teams are tight-knit bunches. Also, who knows what goes on behind closed doors, no one is following these guys round.... is there a problem with anything if the coach comes out and says to people "The guys need to rest now and some quiet and peace"... Or someone says "The guys are inside taking some time among themselves - they dont want to be bothered for about an hour" - People think the players are bonding because its such a hectic life when the reality is their trainer is sticking needles in them to make them recover faster or doing something else dodgy. When you provide a reason internally, bound to it via emotion and ego, and when you justify those reasons through lies, and suppress guilt, you're on a winner. Everyone can help at some point. Its all a whirlwind designed to enable one set of people to lift everyone else. Otherwise, why do you even show up at the club? If, one day, you are on the winners podium - it was all worth it. You are essentially borrowing credit. And if you want to keep it, you keep your mouth shut. Just remember, IF the plan works, thats when it fails. Things like this can't be bottled up. Then add in that everyone was making money off it. If you want to keep a man quiet, you threaten to take away his money. He would have to be a massive stickler for integrity (or craven) to blow the whistle, or bound by law or his office, but no player is... ... The players were expecting glory. Hungry dogs on a good wicket upset few; and said dogs will only grow at a master if their food is not in front of them. The bubble is not broken.
Von Neumann
Roar Guru
Redb ...... oh, really..... :) the afl was sweeping it all under the carpet last year. Players were found out testing positive via drug tests, so what does the AFL do? They told the clubs to drop said players and let everyone know "its an injury" why they are sitting out, and not a "drug ban" Got to love the AFL. I will tell you what I will also love - when the entire sport blows up. But hey, looks like everyones world will be shaken soon, and I attest to you, Demi-god and CO', they have set up the highest (and most fragile) perch of all. You say the parts: "Who clearly didn't go...." and "not shown proper due diligence...." MATE!! You are trying to minimise the damage here: So let me spell it out :::::: THEY ARE STILL CULPABLE!!:::: They set out to get an edge, and they go it alright, and they must have known they were on the [literal/proverbial] edge of a cliff. I am sure you tried to be impartial there, but is the sky blue or red? Because you need to pick a side - and right now you are buying into the AFL's policy of minimize damage anyway possible. __ Its not you who should get any flak, and this is not flak --- just think about how red Demi-gods face is now he's realized he's tried to hold back a dam wall from bursting and futile (and somewhat incriminating against the integrity of his game) his actions were. He may not be the only one to do such things around the world, and here, it seems like a prudent approach. And this is why too his face would be red behind closed doors. ***********(And remember, just because you didn't 'know' - doesn't mean you didn't break the law)********** ("Oh officer! I didn't know the speed limit was 60!") ---> Dude, when you go "for the edge in sport" and you are not using tried and true techniques, you are literally staring at a gun barrel, and only your ego will make you go over. Guilty. We are better off working out how to pin these guys now. :: What it will come to: players followed around 24/7. Or total drug allowance.
Jonny Boy Jnr
Guest
Good point sheek. I thought unwrapping a couple of skeletons (which are true) would back up my argument that Australian officials love to point the blame at other countries as being cheats I.e Chinese Swimmers and Pakistani match fixers but are terrified of admitting wrong doings in our own backyard. Craig Foster made another good point relating to the erosion of social values with the current government allowing betting companies to continuously show odds at every add break. This is drawing in criminal elements and whoever has green lit this over the past 5 years should be banned from voting on any policy as their judgement is unethical
apaway
Roar Guru
And his team mates were suss about it too at the time.
apaway
Roar Guru
Banning betting might be knee-jerk, but banning SPONSORSHIP from betting has to happen straight away. It's the epitome of a conflict of interest. And winding back the number of spot-bet options needs to happen too, not only to protect the entry gate for game fixing but to help the horrendous scourge to society of gambling addiction.
Peter Wilson
Roar Guru
Apparantly one Asian bookmaker took $40M in bets on a Melb Victory win over Perth Glory. Perth, missing Jacob Burns (suspended) along with Michael Thwaite and Scott Jamieson (Socceroos), were further hit by the pre-game withdrawal of Liam Miller, their best player, who was "injured in the warm-up". Maybe this is how Tony Sage pays off his A-League debts. :)
Danny
Guest
Sheek I tend to agree with you. When there is year round cricket made up of inconsequential 20 and 50 over games that seem designed to cater to sports betting more than entertainment, you can see why some players may want to take the betting money and "get back at the man" for organising such stupid schedules. When league makes a motza out of sponsorship, allows coaches and administrators earn as much as they can be paid, but caps the earning capacity of players again you can see why there would be motivation to try the odd spot of exotic match fixing. Finally when our sports institutes hire former Eastern bloc coaches it should not be a surprise that our athletes are involved in taking performance enhancing drugs. Like some earlier posters I am amazed it has taken this long to join all the ugly dots together.
Coxinator
Guest
I was in the stands thinking the same thing. Thank god for Harry's goal.
Coxinator
Guest
That article I wrote last year on the lack I testing in football codes is looking pretty spot-on right now hey Sheek? If a hack player/fan with minimal connections inside the best can know as much as I do. Then what can a funded investigation find? There'll be plenty there I'm afraid. Have a look at how widespread the use of steroids is amongst the young and impressionable.