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"biggest doping scandal in Australia's history"

Felix TamsutJanuary 12, 2016

Thirty-four past and present players from one Australian Football League club have been suspended after being found guilty of using a banned substance. The incident is Australia’s biggest ever doping scandal.

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Australien Australian Football - Essendon Football Club
Image: Getty Images/M. Dodge

The decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to ban the Melbourne-based Essendon Football Club players for two years comes after years of appeals to varying anti-doping trubinals.

The list of suspended players includes current team captain Jobe Watson, and 11 other names from the club's current roster. They will be ruled out for the entire upcoming AFL season that kicks off in March.

Doping has made news headlines in recent weeks, following a WADA report which resulted in an indefinite suspension to Russia by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), after the anti-doping body determined there were “routine” violations of the global testing standards by the country. If upheld, the suspension would prevent Russia, a country with a long and illustrious Olympic record, from taking part in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

The world's athletics governing body has confirmed it looks to double its anti-doping budget, as part of a 10-point plan by the organization's head Lord Sebastian Coe to "restore trust" in athletics.