Melbourne’s Joel Smith has seen his anti-doping case take a major twist with the player now accused of “trafficking” cocaine, as well as possessing the drug a year before his positive test.
Smith was already facing a two-year suspension after an incident following the Round 23, 2023 match against Hawthorn.
A urine sample collected after the match, as part of routine drug testing, found a small amount of cocaine in his system.
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The AFL confirmed on Tuesday night further Anti-Doping Rule Violations had been made against Smith.
He has been notified of three ADRVs alleged against him for “Trafficking or Attempted Trafficking of cocaine to third parties”, plus an ADRV for alleged possession of a prohibited substance on September 9 2022 – the day of Melbourne’s semi-final loss to Brisbane.
The league explained: “Under the Code, Trafficking in an anti-doping context is relevantly defined to be ‘Selling, giving, transporting, sending, delivering or distributing a Prohibited Substance, by an Athlete … to any third party [but] shall not include actions involving Prohibited Substances which are not prohibited in Out-of-Competition Testing unless the circumstances as a whole demonstrate such Prohibited Substances are not intended for genuine and legal therapeutic purposes or are intended to enhance sport performance’ (Article 1 of the Code).”
The Herald Sun – which broke the story – alleged text messages had been found on Smith’s phone including one sent to Demons teammates where he offered them “a quantity of the drug”.
Smith remains provisionally suspended and cannot be part of Melbourne’s football program.
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