Essendon will seek Federal Government intervention to permanently halt any ASADA action against the club, should the Federal Court rule in its favour.
The AFL club’s court battle with the anti-doping body concluded yesterday, with Justice John Middleton reserving his decision on whether a joint investigation by ASADA and the AFL was illegal.
Essendon chairman Paul Little said he would go to Sports Minister Peter Dutton to try to bring the 18-month saga to a close, should the court rule in the club’s favour.
“I will ask him to try and find a circuit breaker,” Mr Little told Fairfax radio today.
“The whole community has got to deal with this investigation and if the Sports Minister is able to help us find a way through it, I think that would be in the best interests of everyone.”
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ASADA has flagged re-starting its investigation into whether Essendon players took performance-enhancing drugs if the court rules its earlier investigation was invalid.
Mr Little said he had spoken to the AFL about the impact the long-running investigation was having on the game.
“We now need to find a way of making it go away,” he said.
Mr Little also said suspended coach James Hird would “unequivocally” be at the club in 2015.
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“He’s still serving his suspension for the next two weeks, approximately. As soon as that’s finished James will be re-engaging with the club in planning for next year,” he said.
While Essendon is keen for the problem to go away, ASADA has warned it could re-issue doping allegations against Essendon players within 24 hours if its investigation is found to be illegal.
“ASADA can reacquire the same information, could do it within 24 hours,” ASADA barrister Tom Howe QC told the Federal Court.
“It then stands possessed by the CEO of ASADA, it’s in his mind and he reissues identical show-cause notices.
“There’s no point in setting aside those notices.”
The Federal Court trial concluded yesterday, with Justice Middleton to deliver his ruling in coming weeks.
Hird said at the conclusion of the trial he enjoyed a strong relationship with the club hierarchy.
