Saad hearing 5pm today...

[Verdun66]

If it was meal replacement around Ramadan, clubs would do well to give those facing fasting, even more education and even a dietician to assist them through.

I'm surprised that this aspect has not been spoken about more and/or raised as a mitigating factor. Would be tough to balance requirements of professional athlete with strict religious-based dietary restrictions.

I agree. I always thought it might have something to do with Ramadan, but never seen it mentioned. I had two boys in a cricket team I coached last season through Ramadan....it was tricky. Cricket is a long day.

[magnifisaint]

Unfortunately the poor bugger is cooked.

Ignorance is not an excuse for stupidity.

[Cairnsman]

If it was meal replacement around Ramadan, clubs would do well to give those facing fasting, even more education and even a dietician to assist them through.

I'm surprised that this aspect has not been spoken about more and/or raised as a mitigating factor. Would be tough to balance requirements of professional athlete with strict religious-based dietary restrictions.

I agree. I always thought it might have something to do with Ramadan, but never seen it mentioned. I had two boys in a cricket team I coached last season through Ramadan....it was tricky. Cricket is a long day.

Does anyone think that if this has anything to do with religious beliefs that clubs will think twice before recruiting a player that fasts due to religious beliefs?

It's possible my ignorance but I've always had difficulty understanding how an elite athlete is able to fast for that long and not have a negative impact on performance. Is there away around it...legally?

[HitTheBoundary]

It's possible my ignorance but I've always had difficulty understanding how an elite athlete is able to fast for that long and not have a negative impact on performance. Is there away around it...legally?

There's been quite a few recent studies on this.
Generally it seems that there is some drop off of performance, but only minimal. Bear in mind that during Ramadan people can eat and drink as much as they like, just not during sunlight hours. It is also quite common (I believe) for people to be given exemptions which may apply for athletes. Maybe some Saintsational muslims could tell us more.

"There are often small decreases of performance, particularly in activities requiring vigorous and/or repetitive muscular contraction. More information is needed on responses in situations where protein intake is likely to be inadequate (adolescent growth, those maintaining vegetarian diets or from poor countries and disciplines with very high overall energy needs) and when vigorous muscle training is in progress. However, in most of the situations studied to date, Ramadan observance has had only limited adverse consequences for either training or competitive performance."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22554842

[gringo]

I really feel for the guy. His whole life is turned upside down and he would be under extreme pressure. It's disgraceful how many are calling him stupid or similar. Lucky no one of you have ever made a mistake. Viking should get sued if they are sponsoring a player and providing stuff outside the ASADA rules to a professional athlete.

I hope we can get him a minimum sentence and have him back in late 2014. Good luck Saady.

[apples1403]

Sadly this has turned out as I expected.

Saad gets hung out to dry for an inadvertant breach, meanwhile no Essendon player has fronted ASADA

[Cairnsman]

It's possible my ignorance but I've always had difficulty understanding how an elite athlete is able to fast for that long and not have a negative impact on performance. Is there away around it...legally?

There's been quite a few recent studies on this.
Generally it seems that there is some drop off of performance, but only minimal. Bear in mind that during Ramadan people can eat and drink as much as they like, just not during sunlight hours. It is also quite common (I believe) for people to be given exemptions which may apply for athletes. Maybe some Saintsational muslims could tell us more.

"There are often small decreases of performance, particularly in activities requiring vigorous and/or repetitive muscular contraction. More information is needed on responses in situations where protein intake is likely to be inadequate (adolescent growth, those maintaining vegetarian diets or from poor countries and disciplines with very high overall energy needs) and when vigorous muscle training is in progress. However, in most of the situations studied to date, Ramadan observance has had only limited adverse consequences for either training or competitive performance."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22554842

Thanks for the info HTB. I've got to say though, take the religious element out of the debate, and it and it just seems absurd for an elite athlete to deprive themselves of sustenance for the best part of 12 hours per day. The timing of Ramadan also has an unfortunate clash with the peak end of the AFL season and you would have to think that this provides even greater risk for player and club if they are in contention for a flag and dare I say It would not be a time of year that you would want to have dip in performance of any magnitude.

[magnifisaint]

Sadly this has turned out as I expected.

Saad gets hung out to dry for an inadvertant breach, meanwhile no Essendon player has fronted ASADA

That is so true. But did any Essendumb players test positive?

[Eastern]

Unfortunately the poor bugger is cooked.

Ignorance is not an excuse for stupidity.

I think you are correct, but we live in hope !!

[Megamaguire]

Sadly this has turned out as I expected.
Saad gets hung out to dry for an inadvertant breach, meanwhile no Essendon player has fronted ASADA

.

Totally agree apples1403 !
Anyone can make a mistake and one based on an energy drink looks nothing more than that. Certainly not a pre-meditated attempt to manufacture a sporting edge. Ahmed is a player with a particularly admirable character.
Cheating consciously on the consumption of a questionable 'soft-drink' just seems out of character for him. Look at all the proactive multi-cultural work he does. This guy is part of the cement in society.

HE IS NOT A DRUG CHEAT!
I DO NOT BELIEVE he consciously swallowed some 'soft-drink'

ASADA must feel very proud of their work in the 'Saad' case ! No doubt they feel they could make an example of this guy and earn a whole truck-load of respect from the public. What a joke !!!

Can't help comparing this to the syringegate program that ran every day of the year over @ Windy Hill and is yet to produce a blip of opinion from pussada.

Asada is a hoax- they are not at all interested in confronting a bigger opponent.
Pick on the small guy and try and look as tough as you can - Pathetic!
Asada looking for headlines about their own great work but still uninterested in a level playing field. Impossible to take these wannabes seriously.

HANG IN THERE AHMED !
GET BEHIND AHMED S A I N T E R S !

[Megamaguire]

Well this is going longer than I expected...

That's because asada are making it up as they go along.
Asada responses and announcements are arbitrary at best!

GO SAINTS!

[gringo]

Sadly this has turned out as I expected.
Saad gets hung out to dry for an inadvertant breach, meanwhile no Essendon player has fronted ASADA

.

Totally agree apples1403 !
Anyone can make a mistake and one based on an energy drink looks nothing more than that. Certainly not a pre-meditated attempt to manufacture a sporting edge. Ahmed is a player with a particularly admirable character.
Cheating consciously on the consumption of a questionable 'soft-drink' just seems out of character for him. Look at all the proactive multi-cultural work he does. This guy is part of the cement in society.

HE IS NOT A DRUG CHEAT!
I DO NOT BELIEVE he consciously swallowed some 'soft-drink'

ASADA must feel very proud of their work in the 'Saad' case ! No doubt they feel they could make an example of this guy and earn a whole truck-load of respect from the public. What a joke !!!

Can't help comparing this to the syringegate program that ran every day of the year over @ Windy Hill and is yet to produce a blip of opinion from pussada.

Asada is a hoax- they are not at all interested in confronting a bigger opponent.
Pick on the small guy and try and look as tough as you can - Pathetic!
Asada looking for headlines about their own great work but still uninterested in a level playing field. Impossible to take these wannabes seriously.

HANG IN THERE AHMED !
GET BEHIND AHMED S A I N T E R S !

But they like doing the soft ones and handing out excessive penalties then letting Armstrong have a 20 year career then when they let off about 100 other cyclists they hit him. But a VFL player who can't understand the chemistry elements when abbreviated into something resembling computer coding- they get hammered with 2 years because they need to look tough. Clowns. And that buffoon of an ex NSW premier, don't get me started.

Piss weak organisation that is more like some Elliot Ness style outdated clowns fighting cyber crime. They are about 30 years behind the times.

It sounds like Essendon are getting off because ASADA gave permission by accident because they can't understand their own rules.

[saintbrat]

But while St Kilda football manager Chris Pelchen confirmed the contracts to the Herald Sun, the bad news continues for forward Ahmed Saad.

It is understood the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority made it clear at his anti-doping hearing on Wednesday it expected him to serve a two-year ban.

Rather than spending hours arguing its case, ASADA was adamant that he was a clear-cut candidate for the maximum ban given he admitted taking a banned substance.

His lawyer Jack Rush argued for a year ban but if he can get an 18-month suspension he could play in 2015 and might still stay on the St Kilda list.

A longer ban would see him delisted by St Kilda given it could not pay him, play him, or even allow him onto the premises at Seaford.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/l ... 6755191702

[ralphsmith]

Sadly this has turned out as I expected.

Saad gets hung out to dry for an inadvertant breach, meanwhile no Essendon player has fronted ASADA

yep disgustingly corrupt

essendon players injections galore and not one has been punished yet? wtf

[WellardSaint]

Nice. Saad drinks something that I can buy over the counter, take to work (we get random drug tested) and not worry at all.
Bomberfilth, however, sneak off-site in secrecy (so the club doc won't know) to get all sorts of jabs, supplied by a sneaky snake-oil salesman...what a crock.
This is surely a joke or a nightmare which we will all wake up from

[gringo]

Nice. Saad drinks something that I can buy over the counter, take to work (we get random drug tested) and not worry at all.
Bomberfilth, however, sneak off-site in secrecy (so the club doc won't know) to get all sorts of jabs, supplied by a sneaky snake-oil salesman...what a crock.
This is surely a joke or a nightmare which we will all wake up from

It's an embarrassment. And WADA don't want Essendon punished apparently because they didn't know?

[ozrulestrace]

Nice. Saad drinks something that I can buy over the counter, take to work (we get random drug tested) and not worry at all.
Bomberfilth, however, sneak off-site in secrecy (so the club doc won't know) to get all sorts of jabs, supplied by a sneaky snake-oil salesman...what a crock.
This is surely a joke or a nightmare which we will all wake up from

It's an embarrassment. And WADA don't want Essendon punished apparently because they didn't know?

How often have we heard the term "Ignorance of the Law is no excuse"? Except now there will be an exclusionary term "Except if you play for Essendon and you say you didn't know"

This opens up an even larger can of worms right across the world.

[Devilhead]

Nice. Saad drinks something that I can buy over the counter, take to work (we get random drug tested) and not worry at all.
Bomberfilth, however, sneak off-site in secrecy (so the club doc won't know) to get all sorts of jabs, supplied by a sneaky snake-oil salesman...what a crock.
This is surely a joke or a nightmare which we will all wake up from

And WADA don't want Essendon punished apparently because they didn't know?

WTF??

Apologies but did I miss a WADA press conference ??

[stkildathunda]

Nice. Saad drinks something that I can buy over the counter, take to work (we get random drug tested) and not worry at all.
Bomberfilth, however, sneak off-site in secrecy (so the club doc won't know) to get all sorts of jabs, supplied by a sneaky snake-oil salesman...what a crock.
This is surely a joke or a nightmare which we will all wake up from

Can you actually buy this stuff over the counter? It's called "before battle", a pre workout supplement.

Viking Protein BEFORE BATTLE is a quality Australian made pre-workout supplement that is specially formulated to increase energy levels, endurance, focus and enhance drive and muscular pumps. Take BEFORE BATTLE pre-training and get your blood pumping.

http://www.vikingprotein.com.au/beforeb ... owders.htm

That is what he took, its pretty clear as day why you'd take that on game day. He had been warned before by club not to take it.

[Devilhead]

He had been warned before by club not to take it.

Surely if the club knew he was taking it and knew of its ingredients they would not just warn him but tell him that it wa illegal and he would be risking a two year ban and his football career would be finished.

Because it seems that you are implying that he deliberately ignored the clubs advice and is therefore a complete and utter brainless idiot ........ which I find hard to believe he would do if the club had warned him ...... as you say!

[Dr Spaceman]

He had been warned before by club not to take it.

Surely if the club knew he was taking it and knew of its ingredients they would not just warn him but tell him that it wa illegal and he would be risking a two year ban and his football career would be finished.

Presumably that was the nature of the warning.

[Devilhead]

He had been warned before by club not to take it.

Surely if the club knew he was taking it and knew of its ingredients they would not just warn him but tell him that it wa illegal and he would be risking a two year ban and his football career would be finished.

Presumably that was the nature of the warning.

Presumably??

Then why in the hell are we defending his actions at the tribunal??

Surely if he consciously went against the club's advice it would be in our best interests to tell the tribunal that he had been previously warned .... why plead for leniency hoping to get him a reduced sentence after he put the club in a extremely embarrasing and troublesome situation

Unless of course we think we owe him something..... which doesnt make sense if he deliberately ignored the supposed warning

[stkildathunda]

Remember this stuff is legal any other day of the week, you just can't take it game day.

[saintspremiers]

Remember this stuff is legal any other day of the week, you just can't take it game day.

Exactly.

If Saad is that dumb then tough luck. Rules are rules.

Just delist him now and let's move on.

[St. Luke]

Personally I hope we don't lose him. He'll be one player you won't want playing for the opposition in the coming seasons. What he did was stupid, but he doesn't deserve anything more than a 6 month ban