At least two former Essendon players considering Court of Arbitration decision appeal in Switzerland
At least two former Essendon players suspended over the AFL club's 2012 supplement regime are considering appealing against their ban in a Switzerland court, Western Bulldogs' president, and lawyer, Peter Gordon has said.
Stewart Crameri and VFL player Brent Prismall, who were among the 34 players banned after an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Authority was upheld in the Court of Arbitration of Sport earlier this month, are now at the Bulldogs.
When asked on 774 ABC Melbourne if the players were considering an appeal against the CAS decision, Mr Gordon replied "There well could be".
"I'm deeply troubled that what history will show these young men have been subject to one of the gravest injustices in Australian sporting history," he said.
Mr Gordon said he agreed with Essendon chairman Lindsay Tanner's opinion that the decision was "manifestly unfair".
"This CAS judgement contains factual errors, unsupported propositions of law, it applies findings that may be pertinent to one player and extrapolates it to all the other 33 players, often with no basis at all."
Mr Gordon said his son, Patrick Gordon, is representing Crameri and Prismall, but he is also involved.
"I don't think there is a way to get it before an Australian court, so if there is to be an appeal it would be to the Swiss federal tribunal, we've got 30 days to bring that, so I think the relevant date is about 10 February.
"I'm looking at it myself because we have two player involved in it, and I know the lawyers for the other 32 are investigating it."
He said the nature of the court system meant it was unlikely a hearing would begin before the start of the season, but lawyers could move for an urgent injunction to grant a stay on the ban.
"We've sought advice from Swiss lawyers on a range of issues and we're hoping to get that advice as soon as we can," he said.
The AFL Players Association has said it is also considering its legal options in the wake of the ban, including a possible compensation claim against the club.
