West Coast’s Rioli gets backdated two-year doping ban, free to play in August
West Coast premiership forward Willie Rioli will be able to return to play on August 20 after he received a two-year backdated suspension for an anti-doping infraction meaning he will be allowed to return to Eagles training on June 20.
The 25-year-old had been provisionally suspended since September 12, 2019 when he was found to have potentially violated the AFL’s anti-doping code, meaning he had to withdraw from the team on the eve of the club’s semi-final clash against Geelong. The two-year ban however the two-year ban was backdated to August 20, 2019, the date the infraction occurred.
Willie Rioli was provisionally suspended.Credit:Getty Images
The suspension occurred after he was charged with an adverse analytical finding for urine substitution after two games in 2019 – August 20 and September 5 – with cannabis found in a sample collected from Rioli on September 5.
The announcement coincided with the window for an appeal from Sport Integrity Australia and the World Anti-Doping Agency closing.
In a statement on Thursday, the AFL said delays in the process gave the anti-doping tribunal cause to backdate his ban to the time of the initial infraction.
“The Tribunal reduced the maximum available period of ineligibility of four years to two years on the basis of the Prompt Admission defence in clause 17.6(c) of the applicable Code, being the maximum available reduction available which the Tribunal considered appropriate in all of the circumstances,” the AFL statement said.
“Further, the Tribunal found that there were substantial delays in the hearing process or other aspects of doping control that were not attributable to Mr Rioli and on that basis concluded that the period of ineligibility should run from the date of the initial Sample collection (i.e. 20 August 2019).”
Rioli appeared in front of the AFL’s anti-doping tribunal via video link from Darwin in December 2020 amid criticisms about the length of time it has taken for a decision to be made.
He has played 38 games including the 2018 grand final against Collingwood. He became a premiership player in just his 24th game.
Willie Rioli timeline
August 20, 2019: Rioli is tested by ASADA, and leaves “something other than urine”, according to West Coast General Manager Craig Vozzo, in his sample jar.
September 12, 2019: Rioli withdrawn from West Coast’s semi-final against Geelong and provisionally suspended for urine substitution after returning an adverse finding. The maximum penalty is a four-year ban.
September 14, 2019: Rioli heads to the Tiwi Islands to be with friends and family as he begins to await the verdict on his penalty. It emerges that he never tested positive to performance enhancing drugs, sparking speculation that he panicked and compromised the sample to avoid testing positive for illicit drugs. A positive test to illicit drugs, however, would have only meant a strike.
September 24, 2019: Rioli records a positive test to marijuana from September 5, after the Eagles’ elimination final win over Essendon.
May 20, 2020: Rioli shares a video on Instagram, showing followers he was keeping his skills intact from the Tiwi Islands.
January 11, 2021: Coach Adam Simpson is concerned Rioli’s career could be over, as the Eagles continue to wait on the verdict.
February 10, 2021: Simpson says the wait to find out Rioli’s penalty cannot “get any more frustrating”.
Early 2021: Rioli told he would receive a backdated two-year ban, which he has already served 18 months of.
March 4, 2021: ASADA (now Sport Integrity Australia) appeal deadline passes. News of the verdict becomes public. Rioli can train from June 20, and is eligible to play from August 20.
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