Ex-Blue faces drug probe
By Caroline Wilson
May 5, 2004
A third Carlton footballer has been linked with illegal drugs and is being investigated by police following allegations he was selling drugs to his teammates.
The Blues' battle against the drug problem that has infiltrated its playing group has also resulted in club president Ian Collins accusing the AFL of being too soft on recreational drugs.
Collins's stand has intensified following an in-house investigation in the wake of last month's Laurence Angwin-Karl Norman drama. He has told the AFL that it must toughen its proposed sanctions against players testing positive to illegal drugs.
The footballer alleged to have been dealing drugs within the team has left the club. His name has been referred to Victoria Police by the Carlton administration.
Victoria Police spokesman Kevin Loomes last night told The Age: "There have been allegations made which we will be investigating." Last night, Collins said: "I have no comment to make on that whatsoever." Carlton chief executive Michael Malouf also refused to comment.
Angwin was sacked after testing positive to ecstasy following a Monday rehabilitation session, while Norman, the other culprit, was suspended for one match and is having drug counselling.
While the AFL yesterday announced details of its drug-testing reform, Carlton's support of the league's move remained lukewarm because of the league's insistence on keeping positive tests of first offenders from the clubs.
Collins has told the AFL that he believes its sanctions remain too soft. Under the current proposal, Angwin's indiscretion - had he provided a positive test to an Australian Sports Drug Agency official and not Carlton - would have had his name kept from the Blues and he would have been required to have private counselling.
Carlton has indicated it will only abandon its plans to test its players in-house once it is satisfied that drug offenders will be suitably punished. Only in the third instance of a positive test to recreational drugs can a footballer be suspended by his club.
While the AFL insisted it had been formulating its new drug-testing policy for several months - it warned the clubs before the start of the season that it had recorded an increase in illegal drug use among players - there is no doubt the Carlton experience has prompted the AFL to speed up its reform.
The current testing rules were introduced following a drugs forum undertaken by the league in 2002, but according to most clubs the rules are no deterrent to illegal drug-taking.
While the Carlton boss upset the AFL Players Association by calling in Melbourne Pathology to test Angwin and Norman, Collins and Malouf have argued that the testing was crucial as part of a workplace safety issue.
In interviews by the Blues' administration after the positive tests were recorded, Carlton players alleged that drug use was rife among a significant group of AFL footballers who often adopted a liver-flushing procedure to escape detection.
Carlton believes after some investigation that Norman and Angwin came to the club already harbouring a history of recreational drug use. The club believes amphetamine use has grown among players who choose to play hard off the field but avoid alcohol to keep their weight down.
Nice to see Caro concentrating on the positives at Carlton as always......
Does anyone have any idea who this player is???
By Caroline Wilson
May 5, 2004
A third Carlton footballer has been linked with illegal drugs and is being investigated by police following allegations he was selling drugs to his teammates.
The Blues' battle against the drug problem that has infiltrated its playing group has also resulted in club president Ian Collins accusing the AFL of being too soft on recreational drugs.
Collins's stand has intensified following an in-house investigation in the wake of last month's Laurence Angwin-Karl Norman drama. He has told the AFL that it must toughen its proposed sanctions against players testing positive to illegal drugs.
The footballer alleged to have been dealing drugs within the team has left the club. His name has been referred to Victoria Police by the Carlton administration.
Victoria Police spokesman Kevin Loomes last night told The Age: "There have been allegations made which we will be investigating." Last night, Collins said: "I have no comment to make on that whatsoever." Carlton chief executive Michael Malouf also refused to comment.
Angwin was sacked after testing positive to ecstasy following a Monday rehabilitation session, while Norman, the other culprit, was suspended for one match and is having drug counselling.
While the AFL yesterday announced details of its drug-testing reform, Carlton's support of the league's move remained lukewarm because of the league's insistence on keeping positive tests of first offenders from the clubs.
Collins has told the AFL that he believes its sanctions remain too soft. Under the current proposal, Angwin's indiscretion - had he provided a positive test to an Australian Sports Drug Agency official and not Carlton - would have had his name kept from the Blues and he would have been required to have private counselling.
Carlton has indicated it will only abandon its plans to test its players in-house once it is satisfied that drug offenders will be suitably punished. Only in the third instance of a positive test to recreational drugs can a footballer be suspended by his club.
While the AFL insisted it had been formulating its new drug-testing policy for several months - it warned the clubs before the start of the season that it had recorded an increase in illegal drug use among players - there is no doubt the Carlton experience has prompted the AFL to speed up its reform.
The current testing rules were introduced following a drugs forum undertaken by the league in 2002, but according to most clubs the rules are no deterrent to illegal drug-taking.
While the Carlton boss upset the AFL Players Association by calling in Melbourne Pathology to test Angwin and Norman, Collins and Malouf have argued that the testing was crucial as part of a workplace safety issue.
In interviews by the Blues' administration after the positive tests were recorded, Carlton players alleged that drug use was rife among a significant group of AFL footballers who often adopted a liver-flushing procedure to escape detection.
Carlton believes after some investigation that Norman and Angwin came to the club already harbouring a history of recreational drug use. The club believes amphetamine use has grown among players who choose to play hard off the field but avoid alcohol to keep their weight down.
Nice to see Caro concentrating on the positives at Carlton as always......
Does anyone have any idea who this player is???
