Thirty-four Essendon players involved in the supplements scandal have been cleared of any wrongdoing by the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal and are free to play in the club’s upcoming matches.

The long running saga came to a dramatic end on Tuesday, as the independent body had found the players not guilty of Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) charges of taking prohibited peptide Thymosin Beta-4 during the 2012 season.

AFL CEO Gillon Mclachlan is hopeful that ASADA won’t appeal the verdict, but ASADA’s chief executive says he’s disappointed.

“What happened at Essendon in 2012 was, in my opinion, absolutely and utterly disgraceful,” Ben McDevitt said in a statement.

“It was not a supplements program but an injection regime and the players and the fans were so poorly let down by the club.

“While I am obviously disappointed that the charges in this instance have not been proven to the comfortable satisfaction of the tribunal, I am pleased that the tribunal was finally able to hear these matters.”

Bombers captain Jobe Watson said the players were relieved at the decision.

“We were totally open books about the whole process,” he said.

“All we wanted to know was the truth and we were honest about everything that we knew.

“We hid nothing from anyone.”

Read more in Saturday’s English edition of Neos Kosmos.

Source: ABC, The Roar, AAP