If the Essendon drugs controversy wasn’t around, St Kilda small forward Ahmed Saad testing positive to a banned substance would have rocked the footy world.
However, as more twists and turns dominate this Bombers’ story and even though the Iiterim report from ASADA has been released, an outcome may not happen before the season ends, so the Ahmed Saad drama remains a sub-plot.
The AFL and St Kilda, though, did the wrong thing by allowing Saad to play on the weekend against Brisbane. He came in as a late replacement, with the Saints keeping their cards very close to their chest about whether he would play or not.
How could he play? His A sample tested positive to having a banned substance in his system, like high profile sprinters Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay.
The World Athletics Championships start this week in Russia and even though the details of their B sample are not known yet, you won’t see Powell or Gay in the 100 metres and rightly so.
St Kilda and the AFL can’t really use the innocent until proven guilty argument, because he has already tested positive to one sample.
I still can’t work out what the Saints were trying to do. Saad had to sit the match out and the season out, while he waits for his penalty, even though he has admitted that it was an innocent mistake and that can’t be doubted. But as ASADA has said right throughout the Essendon saga, that ignorance is not an excuse.
St Kilda supporters and footy fans in general may ask why is Jobe Watson able to keep playing for the Bombers after admitting he took AOD. There still appears to be some consternation, according to ASADA documentation, about whether that substance or supplement is on the banned list.
The AFL has always promoted the fact that they have an excellent record when it comes to keeping drugs, whether they be performance enhancing or illicit out of the game, or in the case of the illicit usage, to the bare minimum.
However, it would be fair to say their reputation was tarnished with the appearance of Ahmed Saad in red, black and white colors at the weekend.
The league, through CEO Andrew Demetriou, has been talking the talk that if this lengthy ASADA report shows that Essendon and their players have cases to answer regarding using banned substances, the penalties are more than likely going to be harsh.
However, their attitude seems to have been different so far with Ahmed Saad and again it has to be emphasised that the Saints’ small forward had no intention of doing the wrong thing, but he has tested positive to one sample and that has to be enough reason for stopping him from playing.
This issue appears to have muddied the waters again and with it being such an emotive and delicate topic in such a high profile environment and competition, the AFL can’t pick and choose when to be proactive or not.
There’s too much riding on it for everyone involved in the game not to get it right.
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