• WADA announces appeal of Essendon's 'not guilty' verdict
• 'Shocked' Bombers set for another season of stress: Hird
• AFL CEO hopes for only 'a couple of days of noise'
1. Who is appealing?
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is appealing the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal's decision to clear 34 past and present Essendon players of using banned substance Thymosin Beta-4. After an elongated hearing and decision process, the independent AFL Tribunal announced on March 31 it was not comfortably satisfied the players had been administered the prohibited supplement. WADA will take the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It follows ASADA's decision to not lodge an appeal after the emphatic result on March 31, when AFL Tribunal chairman David Jones delivered the not guilty verdict.
2. On what grounds are they appealing?
WADA has an automatic right to appeal and said its decision comes after "thorough examination of the evidence contained with the (ASADA) file". Essendon chairman Paul Little surmised on SEN radio on Tuesday that perhaps WADA had found new evidence, but he too did not yet know on what grounds they had come to their decision. The Court of Arbitration for Sport holds a 'de novo' hearing, which means it is a brand new hearing where WADA will be the prosecution and the players will be the defence. It will re-hear the arguments and will be prepared to hear new evidence and will operate under the rules of the AFL. It means the League's rules on evidence, and the standard of proof, remains the same as it was through the AFL Tribunal hearing. WADA and CAS cannot compel witnesses to appear. The main game in this circumstantial case – as it was in the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal – is what is, or isn't, a level of 'comfortable satisfaction'. WADA may hope CAS agrees with its interpretation of comfortable satisfaction that the players took the substance. The AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal did not come to that conclusion.
3. Who will be on the three-person panel?
CAS has a list of arbitrators from which it will select a chairperson. It is possible they will appoint somebody in this position from overseas, which they have done before with big cases in Australia. The other two members of the panel are appointed by the two opposing parties – WADA and the group of players. Each is able to nominate one arbitrator from the list available. It highlights how this is distinct from a court case, where no party is able to choose a judge.
4. Where will the hearing be held?
CAS has an Oceania office based in Sydney, as well as other divisions in Switzerland and New York. But that doesn't mean the case has to be heard in any of those places, with a reasonable expectation it could be held in Melbourne, where a significant number of the parties involved are based. No details have been released around the location for the hearing and when it will take place. WADA is based in Montreal.
5. When can we expect a resolution?
The rough estimate so far in legal circles has a result expected in about six months. The process from here will see CAS appoint the chief arbitrator, and then the other parties will nominate their arbitrators. Once the panel is composed, a timeline will be mapped out. WADA will prepare its case, and a hearing could be set for three-to-four months down the track. A hearing may then take several weeks, but the panel can take its time to consider its written decision. Expectations of a ruling before the end of the season are optimistic, particularly given the drawn-out nature of this whole investigation.
6. Are there further grounds for appeal for either side once a verdict is delivered?
This is sport's equivalent of the High Court. Under the AFL's rules and jurisdiction, the first hearing was the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal, which cleared the players. The next step was ASADA's appeal window to the AFL Appeals Tribunal, which came and went after three weeks. The third step is WADA's appeal to the CAS. Under the sporting rules, this is the final step for all involved.
7. What penalties could they face from the Court of Arbitration for Sport?
It's a brand new hearing so all of the possibilities in play for the first hearing remain on the table again. CAS can dismiss the allegations, uphold all of them or uphold some of them. Bans of up to two years remain possible. Discounts and co-operation would still be relevant if anyone is found guilty, as might backdated suspensions, but the full penalty is open to CAS. Again, parties could make submissions and recommendations about sanctions if anti-doping violations are held to have occurred.
8. What role does the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal play in this?
None. As AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said on Tuesday, the League is not a party to the case and would have "very little involvement" in the process.
9. Will the players be provisionally suspended?
No. The players were provisionally suspended from the time infraction notices were handed down in November to when they were cleared on March 31. They chose not to play in the NAB Challenge for fear of risking any backdated bans, but the option to take a provisional suspension does not apply now. They will remain free to play until the CAS panel hands down a guilty verdict – if it comes to that decision.
10. How will it impact the players?
Given the overwhelming relief the players have felt since the AFL Tribunal's decision, it is hard to think WADA's decision to appeal won't have a significant impact on the group. Many players have spoken about the weight that was lifted as soon as the AFL Tribunal cleared them, and the difference it has made to go to training and be at the club without worrying about possible sanctions. Now that dread and distraction is back, and with an indefinite time frame. The saga has ruined two seasons for the club and is now threatening a third.
