The Court of Abitration for Sport today ruled to uphold the bans handed to 34 members of AFL side Essendon.
In 2013, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency launched an investigation into alleged supplement use at the club in 2012. The investigation was a join venture between the AFL and ASADA.
In June 2014, 34 players and former players were handed show-cause notices accusing them of using the banned peptide, thymosin beta-4.
Essendon countered by appealing the decision at the Federal Court, claiming the joint investigation was unlawful.
The 34 players began serving provisional suspensions in November of 2014, although Dustin Fletcher and captain Jobe Watson did play against Ireland in the International Rules.
An appeal hearing began in December, and in March all 34 players were deemed not guilty of using a banned substance.
ASADA announced they would not appeal the decision, but the World Anti-Doping Agency announced they would contest the AFL's decision.
WADA took the cast to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where it was announced today that the bans should be upheld.
It now means that all 34 players will serve a two-year suspension, beginning on March 31st 2015. Of these, 12 remain at Essendon, while a further five are currently at other clubs.
The CAS panel ruled it was “comfortably satisfied” the 34 players had been injected with the banned substance whilst playing at Essendon in 2012:
The 34 players concerned are sanctioned with a period of ineligibility of two years, commencing on 31 March 2015, with credit given for any individual period of ineligibility already served.
Thus, most of the suspensions will come to an end in November 2016.
