UPDATE
The AFL has released a statement on Joel Smith's positive drug test.
Read it below:
The AFL confirms that a mandatory provisional suspension (which is effective immediately) has been imposed on Melbourne FC player Joel Smith following notification to him by Sport Integrity Australia of an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) and a potential violation of the Australian Football Anti-Doping Code (Code).
It is asserted that a sample provided by Smith during an In-Competition doping control test on 20 August 2023 returned an AAF for the presence of Cocaine and its metabolite Benzoylecgonine being a Prohibited Substance under the Code.
Smith was tested after the Round 23 Melbourne vs Hawthorn game on Sunday August 20, 2023 and was notified by Sport Integrity Australia last week in relation to the finding. The AFL was made aware of the test results at the same time.
The matter is now progressing in accordance with the Code, initially involving further investigation by Sport Integrity Australia supported by the AFL.
In the interim Smith will not be part of Melbourne’s football program.
The AFL is unable to make any further comment at this time.
The Melbourne Football Club has also released a statement of its own.
“The Melbourne Football Club acknowledges the communication sent by AFL regarding Melbourne Player Joel Smith and the notification to him of an Adverse Analytical Finding, potential violation of the Australian Football Anti-Doping Code and imposition of a Provisional Suspension which is effective immediately,” a club statement reads.
“As this matter is being investigated by Sport Integrity Australia, the Melbourne Football Club is unable to make any further comment at this time.
“The Club will continue to support Joel throughout the process and ensure our supporters are informed further when we are authorised to do so.”
EARLIER
Melbourne utility Joel Smith has tested positive to taking drugs late in the 2023 home and away season, reports the Herald Sun’s Mark Robinson.
Robinson says a urine sample was taken from Smith after a game in the weeks leading into the AFL finals.
The result returned as positive for a banned substance which is believed to be cocaine.
The report suggests that the 27-year-old took the drug just days before the game. He was tested after the final siren of the match by Sports Integrity Australia officials.
The result of Smith’s test wasn’t known until after the finals series and the ‘A’ sample result has only been known for a couple of days.
SEN’s Sam Edmund provided some information on the situation after the initial report was released.
“I can tell you that unfortunately Melbourne’s Joel Smith is the player who has tested positive to an illicit substance, believed to be cocaine, late in the 2023 home and away season,” Edmund said on SEN Mornings.
“I’ve put calls into the Demons, the AFL and to Smith’s management company TLA. We’ll bring you as much detail as we can when it comes to hand.
“I’m told a statement is imminent from the AFL, imminent from Melbourne and then I’m sure once those two statements are out, the AFL Players’ Association will deliver their statement as well.
“But by and large, this now rests in the hands of Sport Integrity Australia.
“It was a urine sample taken after a game in the weeks leading up to the AFL finals series.”
Robinson’s report says that the AFL has confirmed the positive test.
As the player tested positive to the substance in competition, up to a four-year suspension is possible.
The AFL’s in-competition period starts at 11:59pm on the day before a game which the player is scheduled to participate in, through the end of the game and the sample collection process.
Under the AFL’s anti-doping code, the penalty can be reduced if they can prove the violation wasn’t intentional.
Smith played 14 of his 42 career games for the Demons in 2023 including both of their finals.