Australian rules football team Collingwood have been rocked with reports that up to 11 of their players tested positive for illicit drugs.
News Corp revealed that the players tested positive for the drugs in the off-season, just before the AFL season got underway in Melbourne.
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire responded to the claims on the Fox Footy show and said it was out of the club's hands when it came to the AFL's illicit drug policy because it guarantees player confidentiality.
"It's a question without any basis in fact but as far as I know it could well be the truth because we don't find out," McGuire said. "We get piecemeal information. We're speaking to the AFL in the next couple of weeks about the hair-testing results but until the clubs have actually got some control over it there's no point talking to the clubs. It's an AFL and AFL Players Association matter."
Under the current illicit drugs policy scheme, a player who tests positive for the first time remains anonymous and receives a suspended $5000 fine, with just the club doctor being told about the offence.
A second failed test sees the player named and banned for four months, and a third strike results in a 12-month ban from the sport.
Newshub.
