Thirty-four past and present Essendon footballers are free to resume playing after being cleared of taking a banned drug.
AFL anti-doping tribunal chairman David Jones revealed on Tuesday that the players, of whom 17 are still at Essendon, had been able to prove they were not given the prohibited substance thymosin beta-4 during the club's 2011-12 supplements program.
David Grace QC, representing 32 of the 34 players, was delighted with the outcome.
"We are very pleased. We all had a very fair hearing and we are happy with the result, obviously," he said on Tuesday afternoon.
"No one has read the reasons for the decision. We are still going to be considering that. The players will be playing this week."
The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority welcomed the verdict but severely criticised the program at Essendon three years ago.
"What happened at Essendon in 2012 was, in my opinion, absolutely and utterly disgraceful. It was not a supplements program but an injection regime and the players and the fans were so poorly let down by the club," ASADA CEO Ben McDevitt said in a statement.
"While I am obviously disappointed that the charges in this instance have not been proven to the comfortable satisfaction of the tribunal, I am pleased that the tribunal was able to finally hear these matters."
Grace did not wish to comment about ASADA's case, or what the anti-doping body would do now.
"We mounted a very strong defence to the case and the result is here today."
Lawyers for ASADA weren't able to prove to a "comfortable satisfaction" that the chain of evidence was strong enough to prosecute their case.
The hearings before Jones, John Nixon, also a former County Court judge, and Wayne Henwood, a former VFL-AFL player, and now a barrister, began in December and concluded in February.
The Essendon players, including skipper Jobe Watson, had been provisionally suspended since receiving infraction notices for a second time on November 14.
The Bombers open their season against the Sydney Swans at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.
However, ASADA and the World Anti-Doping Agency could now appeal to the AFL appeals tribunal. They have 21 days to appeal. If there are sufficient grounds, they could also appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The announcement by Jones was a significant moment in a case that has clouded the league since the Bombers self-reported on February 5, 2013.
It was unclear whether Stephen Dank, the architect of the supplements program who was also given an infraction notice, had been cleared.
Essendon has yet to comment extensively on the decision but the club's chief executive simply tweeted the following: "I am so proud of our players."
With Scott Spits
Statement in full from AFL anti-doping tribunal chairman David Jones:
pic.twitter.com/gktjEXQtPc — Patrick Keane (@AFL_PKeane)
March 31, 2015
The AFL have released the following statement regarding the verdict from today's anti-doping tribunal:
http://t.co/ZvMN7sAGUN.
#DonTheSash — Essendon FC (@EssendonFC)
March 31, 2015
It doesn t matter what club you barrack for, that is a great result for the game of Australian rules football. Bring on Thursday night!! — Matthew Lloyd (@MatthewLloyd18)
March 31, 2015
Lives ruined, reputations trashed. The AFL executive should be called to account as should the AFL Commission. — Ian Hanke (@IanHanke)
March 31, 2015
"This decision does not absolve the Essendon Football Club of blame." -
@Marsh_Paul
http://t.co/expdwcYGDv — AFL Players (@AFLPlayers)
March 31, 2015
