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No Oppo Supporters CAS hands down guilty verdict - Players appealing - Dank shot - no opposition - (cont in pt.2)

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Caro, news ltd, now peirik in the age again - all setting a tone of an evidence breakdown.

This is how the AFL likes the set the agenda remember, slowly ingrain it in our heads. Get it to the point where people are expecting the players to get off, or not have to front at all.
 
ASADA faces collapse of peptide case against Bombers players
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...ca37c6214191fe05e8fcb81e#.VHwD_ly3rqk.twitter

Mr Alavi told The Australian: “I will not be signing the affidavit as I am not compelled to do so.’’

Mr Charter refused to meet yesterday’s deadline set by ASADA to sign a witness statement. “ASADA should have always worked on the premise that the documents should be strong enough to stand on their own. I never agreed to appear or be a witness.’’

NEARLY six months after it accused 34 current and former Essendon footballers of taking a banned peptide, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority cannot produce a witness to substantiate its allegations.

In a dramatic development in its contentious, two-year pursuit of suspected doping at the AFL club, ASADA today told a directions hearing in Melbourne it had not secured the testimony of its two most important witnesses, drug importer Shane Charter and compounding pharmacist Nima Alavi.

Despite conducting numerous interviews with ASADA investigators, both witnesses have so far refused to sign statements provided by anti-doping investigators.

Paul Marsh, a solicitor representing Mr Alavi, has written to ASADA making clear his client’s intention to have no further involvement with the case. Mr Alavi told The Australian: “I will not be signing the affidavit as I am not compelled to do so.’’

Mr Charter refused to meet yesterday’s deadline set by ASADA to sign a witness statement. “ASADA should have always worked on the premise that the documents should be strong enough to stand on their own. I never agreed to appear or be a witness.’’

The Australian understands that Suki Hobson, a conditioning coach who worked at Essendon during the 2012 season, has also declined to sign a statement provided by ASADA.

Dean Robinson, the club’s high performance manager, has not been asked to sign a statement or provide testimony.

With the absence of witnesses placing the high-profile case at risk of collapse, ASADA has flagged its intention to apply to the Victorian Supreme Court for subpoenas to compel Mr Charter and Mr Alavi to appear before the tribunal hearing, which is scheduled to begin on December 15.

Under a provision within the Commercial Abritration Act, a party to an arbitral tribunal hearing can apply to the court to issue a subpoena requiring a person to attend for examination and produce documents. A court order, if granted, would not compel either Mr Charter or Mr Alavi to answer questions. The AFL tribunal does not have the power to administer an oath to a witness.

Mr Charter is currently facing unrelated criminal charges of trafficking and possessing steroids and possessing growth hormone and other schedule four poisons. The charges were laid in July after Mr Charter was arrested at Melbourne’s international airport. Mr Charter has vowed to defend the charges and is due to appear before the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court, before it issues subpoenas against Mr Alavi and Mr Charter, must be satisfied that the AFL anti-doping tribunal, a disciplinary proceeding brought under the AFL’s player rules, is a commercial arbitration. Sports law experts contacted by The Australian said there was no precedent for the Commercial Arbitration Act being used in an anti-doping case.

ASADA’s stated intention to seek an 11th hour, Supreme Court intervention reveals growing concern within the anti-doping body that, without testimony from Mr Alavi and Mr Charter, it does not have a case to run. The failure to present a case would increase pressure on the Abbott Government to establish a broad inquiry into ASADA’s structure and resources and its handling of the supplements saga.

The full bench of the Federal Court is currently deliberating on an appeal by Essendon coach James Hird to have the joint ASADA/AFL investigation into the club declared unlawful.

ASADA’s precarious position also raises doubts about its prospect of running a successful case against Stephen Dank, the sports scientist accused of administering Essendon players with Thymosin Beta 4, a peptide banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Mr Charter, a self-styled anti-ageing consultant, told ASADA that he arranged the importation of a batch of peptides including Thymosin Beta-4 from a Shanghai biochemical supplier in late 2011 and that the raw materials for the peptides was delivered to Mr Alavi’s Toorak pharmacy in January 2012. Mr Charter provided ASADA with documents in support of his claims.

Mr Alavi told ASADA that a batch of Thymosin peptide sourced by Mr Charter from China was delivered to his pharmacy. He compounded the peptide and provided it to Mr Dank for testing. Mr Alavi told ASADA he did not know whether the peptide was Thymosin Beta 4 or another form of Thymosin, such as Thymodulin, and whether it was administered to Essendon players.

If ASADA is unable to produce Mr Charter and Mr Alavi as witnesses, lawyers for the players will ask for the case to be thrown out. Although the AFL tribunal is not a court, procedural fairness requires players charged with doping to be given an opportunity to question their accusers.

Mr Dank is currently charged with more than 30 doping violations relating to his work at Essendon and the Gold Coast Suns and if found guilty, faces a life ban from all sport. The NRL has not initiated a doping case against him for his involvement in administering Cronulla players with two peptides, CJC1295 and GHRP-6, during the 2011 season.

Mr Dank has refused to be interviewed by ASADA and denies giving any professional footballer a banned substance.

The Australian has confirmed that Mr Dank’s persistent claims that he administered Essendon players with Thymomodulin, a permitted immunity booster, and not Thymosin Beta-4, a banned substance used to regenerate muscle and ligament tissue, are supported by Mr Robinson, Mr Dank’s direct manager at Essendon.

Mr Robinson has given multiple interviews to ASADA this year and last year. It is understood that in a March 2013 interview, he told ASADA that the only Thymosin peptide used at Essendon was Thymomodulin. Mr Robinson provided his account before he initiated legal action against Essendon for breach of contract, a dispute that settled earlier this year with a reported, $1 million payout to Mr Robinson.

Mr Robinson returned to Melbourne last week after six weeks overseas. ASADA has not asked him to sign a statement or appear as a witness in the case against the current and former Essendon players. It is understood that Mr Robinson would be willing to appear as a witness for the players if called.
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This scenario beggars belief - The tactics of ASADA are a disgrace - Players should never have been issued Show Cause notices - There has to be a reason !
 
rumply said:
ASADA faces collapse of peptide case against Bombers players
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...ca37c6214191fe05e8fcb81e#.VHwD_ly3rqk.twitter

Mr Alavi told The Australian: “I will not be signing the affidavit as I am not compelled to do so.’’

Mr Charter refused to meet yesterday’s deadline set by ASADA to sign a witness statement. “ASADA should have always worked on the premise that the documents should be strong enough to stand on their own. I never agreed to appear or be a witness.’’
Click to expand...
mj-laughing.gif
 
RIG said:
mj-laughing.gif
Click to expand...

if Chip is accurate -

Alavi refuses to testify
Charters refuses to testify
Suki Hobson refuses to testify
Robsinson will testify in support of the players
Dank...who knows, off cleaning toilets somewhere(nttawwt)
& now ASADA will try to get a court to allow them to compel witnesses to testify at a TRIBUNAL:drunk:

I think MJ's reaction covers it nicely:D
 
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rumply said:
if Chip is accurate -

Alavi refuses to testify
Charters refuses to testify
Suki Hobson refuses to testify
Robsinson will testify in support of the players
Dank...who knows, off cleaning toilets somewhere
& now ASADA will try to get a court to allow them to compel witnesses to testify at a TRIBUNAL:drunk:

I think MJ's reaction covers it nicely:D
Click to expand...

I also read it as the supreme court can only compel them to attend a TRIBUNAL. They do not have to answer questions. It would appear their stated intention would be to remain silent.
 

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rumply said:
if Chip is accurate -

Alavi refuses to testify
Charters refuses to testify
Suki Hobson refuses to testify
Robsinson will testify in support of the players
Dank...who knows, off cleaning toilets somewhere(not that there's anything wrong with that)
& now ASADA will try to get a court to allow them to compel witnesses to testify at a TRIBUNAL:drunk:

I think MJ's reaction covers it nicely:D
Click to expand...
And Andruska can't recall ....
 
Wait didnt the ADRVP have to rule that evidence was of a comfortable satisfaction to proceed with SCN's? I know they said the bar was low but this is ridiculous.

Though the way this whole thing has played out the media will be saying the players are likely to receive 2 year bans next monday. What a disgrace.

Kicked out of finals and loss of draft picks for ****ing nothing.
 
scottmclaren said:
McDonut has some serious questions to answer, why did he issue SC notices 6 months ago and then kick start his media junket. Bloke is giving ex cops a bad name.
Click to expand...


The way this is going that AFP head job might be looking a little out of reach sooner rather than later...
 

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vast said:
Wait didnt the ADRVP have to rule that evidence was of a comfortable satisfaction to proceed with SCN's? I know they said the bar was low but this is ridiculous.

Though the way this whole thing has played out the media will be saying the players are likely to receive 2 year bans next monday. What a disgrace.

Kicked out of finals and loss of draft picks for ******* nothing.
Click to expand...

AFLPA statement read something like;

Players will not respond to SC but instead request matter is referred directly to Tribunal.
 
I will also point out, the retired high court judge that reviewed the case for govt/asada told them they would need signed affidavits. Which they immediately set out to get... Months ago.
 
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