A shocking report today revealed widespread drug taking in Australian sport and astonishing links to organised crime.
On what is being described as the “blackest day” in the country’s sporting history, the year-long investigation by the Australian Crime Commission has also uncovered one potential incident of match-fixing amid fears it could be the tip of the iceberg.
The ACC has compared the sophisticated and systematic doping in its country to that which went undetected for so long in the Lance Armstrong scandal.
For legal reasons, the ACC has not revealed those involved but the governing bodies of the country’s two most popular sports — rugby league and Australian rules football — admitted “they had concerns rising out of the report”. Cricket and football chiefs have said their sports have not been implicated.
Speaking at a press conference in Canberra today, home affairs minister Jason Clare said: “The findings are shocking and they will disgust Australian sports fans. It has found the use of substances, including peptides, hormones and illicit drugs, is widespread among professional athletes.
“We are talking about multiple athletes across a number of codes. We’re talking about a number of teams. The findings indicate the drugs are being facilitated by sports scientists, coaches, support staff as well as doctors and pharmacists.
“In some cases, sports scientists and others are orchestrating the doping of entire teams. In some cases, players are being administered substances which have not yet been approved for human use.”
The report said organised crime was involved in the distribution of the drugs, exposing players to the possibility of being coerced into match-fixing. One case was being investigated, said Clare, without indicating which sport was involved.
The government said it will crack down on the scourge. Sports minister Kate Lundy said: “If you want to dope and cheat, we’ll catch you, if you want to fix a match, we’ll catch you.”
Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates called for anyone found guilty to be dealt with as harshly as possible.
“Because of the criminal element exposed today the penalties must be severe,” he said. “To those involved in illegal activities in sport, now is the time to tell ASADA [the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency] what you know. As of today you will get caught.”
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World Anti-Doping Agency president John Fahey believes the damning report is a wake‑up call to governing bodies around the world.
Fahey, himself an Australian, said: “It tells us how wide, how deep this problem is. In a country that prides itself in fair play, if we’ve got a problem of the nature we’ve heard of, what does it mean for the rest of the world?”
Richard Ings, former chief of ASADA, described it as “the blackest day in Australian sport”.
News that rugby league players and clubs are being investigated is a huge blow to the sport Down Under just nine months before World Cup favourites Australia begin their bid to win the trophy in England.
Meanwhile, the US Anti-Doping Agency says disgraced former cyclist Armstrong has been given two more weeks to co-operate with investigators.
Chief executive Travis Tygart said: “We have been in communication with Mr Armstrong and his representatives and we understand he does want to be part of the solution and assist in the effort to clean up cycling.”
