Melbourne utility Joel Smith is facing a minimum two-year suspension after being reportedly being found guilty of taking cocaine before a match, which classified as a performance-enhancing drug.
The Herald Sun reported Smith remains provisionally banned after being informed by Sports Integrity Australia on Tuesday he had been found guilty in a pre-Christmas hearing, with the 27-year-old set to fight the ruling.
A urine sample collected after Melbourne’s Round 23 win over Hawthorn, as part of routine drug testing, found a small amount of cocaine in his system.
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The report states that while Smith has not been handed a penalty based on the SIA ruling, the findings would see him suspended for at least two years, and possibly longer.
Smith and the Demons had previously been hopeful he would be banned just three months and thus be able to begin pre-season training.
They were hoping to argue using a new rule, introduced in 2021, wherein a shorter ban is given out if they can prove “the substance was used out-of-competition and that its use was unrelated to sporting performance”.
But because the substance was found in his body during an in-competition test he may have trouble using this argument.
“The AFL advises that the matter involving Joel Smith of the Melbourne Football Club being investigated by Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) under the Australian Football Anti-Doping Code is ongoing,” AFL spokesperson Jay Allen told The Age.
“Joel remains provisionally suspended and as such he is not permitted to participate in Melbourne’s pre-season training when it recommences in the coming days.
“Due to the ongoing nature of the anti-doping process the AFL will not comment further at this time.”
Smith kicked four goals across the Demons’ two finals losses last season, and is contracted until the end of 2024.
