A random selection of Essendon players who gave evidence at the Court of Arbitration for Sport appeal were called to the hearing by the CAS panel, not the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Fairfax Media can reveal that the players - six or seven of whom were called up to give evidence and cross examined - were chosen as a random selection from the 34 past and present Essendon players. They were not called because they had given ASADA specific evidence about the banned drug thymosin beta-4, which WADA says the players were administered in 2012.
The players were directly questioned by the CAS panel - like judges questioning a witness. The CAS wanted to hear first-hand the players' recollections of the events of 2011-2012 at Windy Hill, having read much of the material about the case prior to the hearing in Sydney, which finished last Friday.
The relevant players — who included skipper Jobe Watson — were informed they would be called to give evidence well in advance of the hearing. The players separately gave evidence over two days of the five-day hearing, in which WADA appealed the AFL tribunal's not guilty verdict for the 34 players from earlier this year.
The CAS has already received submissions from the parties on any sentencing in the event of WADA's appeal being successful and the players found guilty of taking TB-4.
This means that the players would be sentenced immediately if WADA wins on appeal. There would be no subsequent hearing to determine sanctions.
The players, who were interviewed at length by ASADA during the joint investigation with the AFL, were not asked to testify at the much longer AFL anti-doping tribunal hearing that saw the players cleared on the eve of the 2015 season.
Because the CAS's three-member panel had read submissions and other material prior to the hearing, the panel - chaired by distinguished English QC and human rights lawyer Michael Beloff - were able to complete the entire appeal hearing within five days.
The AFL had made a written submission calling for the players to miss no games - due to backdating and delays outside of the players' control - in the event of a guilty verdict from the CAS. This hoped-for outcome would also include a no-significant fault, no significant negligence finding, which cuts a two-year sentence in half and which ASADA at one point offered. Players can also reduce a penalty by six months if they demonstrate co-operation; the 34 have served more than four months of a provisional suspension during the pre-season of 2015.
Essendon expects a verdict to be announced before Christmas. Prior to the CAS hearing, the club expressed confidence that the players would be cleared again, and believed that the players would not serve suspensions if they were found guilty on appeal.
