Sandor Earl issued NRL drug infraction over peptide use and trafficking

[TITAN PETE]

CANBERRA Raiders winger Sandor Earl may be banned for life after the NRL revealed he had admitted to the use and trafficking of peptides.

Earl is facing a two-year ban for peptide use and four years to life for trafficking, after NRL boss Dave Smith said the player had admitted to using and trafficking the substance CJC-1295 - promoted as a substance that helps reduce fat and repair injured tissue.

ASADA told News Corp that CJC-1295 was considered by the World Anti-Doping Agency to be a substance that triggers the release of growth hormone.

Earl has been issued an infraction notice by the NRL and become the code's first major scalp of the ASADA investigation. He can accept a looming NRL sanction or fight it in a tribunal.

Earl, 23, has been suspended immediately from playing.

NRL boss Dave Smith said at a press conference Earl had made "admissions" of both use and trafficking performance-enhancing peptides.

Earl hinted at his looming fate on his Twitter account before the announcement, posting: "#TRUTH".

"He (Earl) agreed to stand down and has subsequently been stood down," Smith said.

"He admitted to use and trafficking of peptides. He made an admission and we issued an infraction notice.

"We have stood him down and it is a provisional suspension.

“From the outset we have made it clear in relation to performance-enhancing substances we would follow due process to ensure our game is clean.

"I want to make it very clear that the broader ASADA investigation is continuing … like everyone involved in the game we believe it needs to be brought to a conclusion as quickly as possible.

``There is no place for drugs in our game and the sweeping actions we have taken in relation to new drug testing and the formation of the integrity unit this year underline our commitment in that

In a statement, Raiders CEO Don Furner said: “The club understands the allegations made against Sandor Earl relate to a time prior to his arrival at the club."

The club added that it had only learned about the allegations this afternoon and would wait to be fully briefed about the matter before making further comment.

Earl, who played for Penrith and the Roosters before Canberra, had publicly denied drug allegations previously.

"I was shocked at the allegations raised ... and I absolutely deny any wrongdoing," he had said in a statement.

Smith said interviews related to the ASADA investigation had been completed for the NRL and he did not expect any further announcements to be made on findings imminently.

He said Earl's welfare would be considered as proceedings unfolded.

The Cronulla NRL club has been in the crosshairs of ASADA, with huge speculation leading up to today's announcement that the Sharks' day of reckoning had finally arrived.

Earlier in the season, coach Shane Flanagan was stood down, while Darren Mooney (football manager), Mark Noakes (head trainer), Konrad Schultz (physiotherapist) and David Givney (club doctor) were sacked. Flanagan was later reinstated and has his team in fifth place with just two rounds left.

Earl's infraction is the first issued in the NRL but comes hot on the heels of massive sanctions against AFL club Essendon on Tuesday.

The Bombers were banned from the AFL finals, fined $2 million and stripped of draft picks. Coach James Hird was banned for 12 months and sanctions were also levelled against Football Manager Danny Corcoran (six-month ban) and assistant coach Mark Thompson ($30,000 fine).

The shadow of alleged widespread drug use in Australian sport was first raised in February at a dramatic press conference headed by the Australian Crime Commission, which released a report that prompted the moment to be dubbed "The Blackest Day in Australian Sport".

[TITAN PETE]

THE Penrith Panthers have admitted paying $1160 for Sandor Earl to be injected with supplements in 2011 as the NRL’s drugs-in-sport investigation claimed its first major scalp.

But Panthers Group boss Warren Wilson was on Thursday night adamant the club was unaware Earl’s medical bills related to banned peptide CJC-1295 and said the NRL star had gone off-site without Penrith’s consent.

In a watershed day that could blow the Australian Anti-Doping Authority’s seven-month investigation into rugby league wide open, the NRL hit Earl with a provisional suspension relating to the use and trafficking of CJC-1295.

News Corp can reveal that a Sydney doctor with a direct link to sports scientist Stephen Dank injected Earl 12 times during 2011 and billed the Penrith Panthers Group $1160.

Penrith Panthers Group boss Wilson confirmed Earl visited doctor Ijaz Khan’s Injury Care clinic in Cabramatta after suffering a shoulder injury when contracted to the Panthers in 2011.

"When we first heard about it (in June), we looked for invoices under the doctor’s name but couldn’t find any," Wilson said.

"Then we Googled his name and we found the clinic (Injury Care). We found (12) invoices from that clinic for treatment to Sandor Earl, totalling around $1,000.

"They weren’t paid until January 2012 because the club wasn’t in the best financial shape at that time.

"They were also sent to Panthers Group and not the football club. When we found them we forwarded them to the NRL’s Integrity Unit to investigate.
"We left it in the hands of the NRL. We’ve since conducted a review of our procedures, because there was a player going off-site for treatment without any authorisation from the club.

"That’s a problem, not just for Penrith, that you can’t control players once they’re away from your care.

"We’ve completely changed our procedures as a result and no one is to get any treatment - or pay any invoices - unless it’s authorised by the doctor.

"This player has done something individually wrong and if he’s found guilty of trafficking then I hope they throw the book at him."

Panthers general manager Phil Gould confirmed to News Corp in June that the club had referred the Earl issue to the NRL’s integrity unit.
Dr Khan’s Cabramatta Injury Care Clinic has previously featured in relation to Dank and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency’s drugs-in-sport investigation, with the Cronulla Sharks billed by the clinic for blood tests at the start of 2011.

At the time the blood tests were conducted, Dank was in the process of implementing the supplements program that has landed the Sharks in the crosshairs of the ongoing ASADA investigation.

Crucially, CJC-1295 is one of the peptides the Sharks stand accused of using, according to the independent report compiled by Dr Tricia Kavanagh and detailed by News Corp in May.

Kavanagh’s report led to coach Shane Flanagan being stood down for a fortnight and four staff members being sacked by the club’s previous board, before the new board headed by Damian Keogh opted to overthrow the decisions.

Trainer Mark Noakes, who has since been reinstated against the NRL’s advice, provided a statement naming CJC-1295 and GHRP-6 as the peptides that the Sharks allegedly used.

So given Earl has been issued with an infraction notice for the use of CJC-1295, Cronulla’s place in the finals remains a bone of contention among rival NRL clubs.

Dank has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or giving athletes banned substances.

Earl joined the Panthers at the start of 2011 and spent the majority of his tenure injured or playing NSW Cup for Windsor Wolves.

He then switched clubs to the Canberra Raiders midway through last year and went on to star in the 2012 finals.

The winger, renowned for his combination with Blake Ferguson, started this season strongly before being dropped to NSW Cup and then recently re-emerged in the NRL.

In May, Earl announced he would be leaving the NRL at the end of this season to play French rugby for second division club Pau on a one-year contract worth $220,000.

That contract is now up in the air given that the World Anti-Doping Agency’s code can also be applied in European rugby.

[TITAN PETE]

Throw the book at Earl: Fittler

NRL.com
Fri 30th August, 10:26am



Raiders winger Sandor Earl has admitted to using and trafficking the banned peptide CJC 1295.

Earl was handed an infraction notice by the NRL after admitting to the use and trafficking of prohibited substances, including the peptide CJC-1295.

He faces a ban of four years to life for the offences, but it is believed his willingness to co-operate with ASADA's investigation may see his sentence reduced.

Speaking on SportsFan's Clubhouse on Thursday evening, Fittler said the only way to educate young players is to make an example of Earl.

"You can only educate them by [threatening] penalties," he told the gang.

"If you take this you'll be out for four years, it's as simple as that. It's too hard the other way.