West Coast's Willie Rioli was found guilty in 2019 of having traces of marijuana in his system during a routine ASADA check. In August and September of 2019, he was caught attempting to tamper with the boldly fluid sample required by ASADA. He has been serving a provisional suspension since August of 2019. The Anti-Doping Tribunal found him guilty and gave him a two year suspension. However, that suspension has been backdated to August 20, 2019 - the date of the first sample collection - so he will be allowed to return to training in June. He will not be available for team selection until August of this year.
The maximum penalty is four years, but due to Rioli's admissions and cooperation, as well as hearing delays and other issues not involving Rioli, the penalty was reduced to two years. Under the strict confidentiality provisions of both WADA and ASADA, none of the parties involved were allowed to comment until now. The official statement read as follows:
The Tribunal found three breaches of the Anti-Doping Code (proved largely on admissions made by Mr Rioli):
- Use of a prohibited method by Mr Rioli, namely u-ine substitution during the course of the doping control/sample collection process on 20 August 2019
- Presence of the metabolite of a Prohibited Substance (namely cannabis) in a sample collected from Mr Rioli on 5 September 2019
- Use of a prohibited method by Mr Rioli, namely u-ine substitution during the doping control/sample collection process on 5 September 2019
The AFL acknowledged the support Rioli received from the Eagles, the AFLPA and Rioli's lawyers throughout the investigations and hearing.
Rioli was drafted in 2016, has ;played 38 games and kicked 18 goals for the Eagles. He was a member of the 2018 premiership team.
Source: Jay Allen, AFL Media Release, AFL Record Season Guide
Article last changed on Sunday, March 07, 2021 - 9:56 PM EST
