Essendon Football Club chairman David Evans has made the following statement:

As you know, the Essendon Football Club is the subject of an ASADA and AFL investigation.

I want to remind people that it was the Essendon Football Club who called for this investigation, and that we have opened our club to the full weight of that process.

These are complex issues that are impacting on the club, and we are trying to respond to the facts as they come to hand.  

The allegations about supplements and substances are the subject of much speculation today.  

And I want to say this. 

I as Chairman    ….. And the Essendon Football Club under my leadership have and will support ASADA and the AFL in their investigations.  Furthermore anyone who truly cares about our football club, our great game and the people who play it, support it and work in it will back ASADA too. 

This investigation will take time, and that is taking a toll on our club, but I repeat we must give them the time and space that they need to come to conclusions about what happened, and how.   

In the interim, the Board of the Club has commissioned Ziggy Switkowsky to do a full review of our governance process,  as well as commissioning independent medical and scientific advice as issues from 2012 supplement program become apparent. 

I want to address the allegations made about James Hird and other club officials in today’s papers.  They are of course very serious, but I want to urge caution here.    The Board will not be making a decision about these allegations today, and it is extremely important that James and others be afforded both the opportunity to talk to ASADA, and the basic right to natural justice.  James Hird is a person who has the respect of this club and the football community, and the Board will not be making decisions about the next steps until the processes of the review and the investigation takes its course.

As I said yesterday the Board has made it clear that the health and safety of our players is paramount, and that if anyone at our club has breached their duty of care, the Board will act.