MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Whistle-blowers have accused the Australian Football League (AFL) of conducting “off-the-books” drug testing of players and covering up positive results, a Federal lawmaker told Australian parliament late on Tuesday.
Member of parliament Andrew Wilkie said allegations of “egregious misconduct” had been provided by former Melbourne Demons president Glen Bartlett, club doctor Zeeshan Arain and Shaun Smith, the father of a player accused of drug trafficking.
The allegations included off-the-books testing for drugs at a Melbourne clinic, with players who tested positive rested from matches “ostensibly on account of injury”, said Wilkie.
“If there are no illegal drugs in the player’s system they are free to play, and if there are drugs in their system the player is often asked to fake an injury,” Wilkie added.
“They are advised to lie about a condition, while the results of the off-the-book tests are kept secret and are never shared with Sports Integrity Australia or WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency),” he told parliament.
The AFL and Melbourne football club were unable to provide immediate comment when contacted by Reuters on Wednesday.
Sports Integrity Australia (SIA) is the national anti-doping authority.
The AFL, the national governing body for Australian Rules football, is a signatory to WADA’s anti-doping code but runs a separate policy for drugs like cocaine and ecstasy that are more associated with social use than enhanced performance.
Players who record a first positive test under the AFL’s illicit drugs policy receive a suspended A$5,000 ($3,300) fine and counselling but are not publicly named.
A slew of AFL players have tested positive for cocaine in recent years, raising doubt about the effectiveness of the policy.
“Hundreds of thousands of Australians will watch the game not knowing that the game has been secretly manipulated by the AFL and thousands of Australians will bet on that game not knowing the game has been secretly manipulated by the AFL,” said Wilkie.
Melbourne player Joel Smith, whose father Shaun was cited in the allegations against the AFL, has been provisionally suspended since October following a positive test for cocaine after a match last season.
The AFL said last month SIA had charged Smith with anti-doping breaches including alleged “trafficking or attempted trafficking” to third parties.
Wilkie’s comments to parliament came hours after two Sydney Swans players in the women’s AFLW competition were suspended by the AFL following a police charge for cocaine possession during the off-season.
($1 = 1.5295 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Michael Perry)
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