Essendon assistant coach Mark Thompson says the AFL is in a crazy state as doping allegations swirl around the Bombers.

Thompson says he fears fans of the game are going to turn away if the situation becomes bogged down in the courts in an increasingly tense and bitter stand-off.

The AFL and Essendon have received copies of an interim Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) report into last year’s controversial supplements program at the club.

When asked on Monday if the AFL had already decided to strip fifth-placed Essendon of premiership points ahead of the September finals series, the league’s deputy chief executive Gil McLachlan said: “I think you’re well ahead of the curve here.

“Andrew Dillon, the general counsel of the AFL and the head of our integrity unit, is considering the report,” McLachlan added.

“The first thing’s first, to decide if there’s any action to be taken.”

Thompson said Essendon’s players were mentally drained by the anxiety caused by the supplements scandal.

“We don’t want anyone to go through this again. Football’s crazy at the moment,” Thompson told Fox Footy’s AFL 360 program on Monday night.

“What’s the next three years going to hold? It’s going to be in and out of court, it’s stakeholders fighting with one another.

“Someone seriously needs to grab this whole situation and position it and get people working together again and respecting one another.

“People are going to just drop off footy if this keeps going.

“If we just drag it through courts the next couple of years, people won’t turn up.”

Thompson scoffed at an Adelaide radio report that Essendon’s senior coach James Hird would step aside later this week.

“He won’t stand down, I know that, and he shouldn’t,” Thompson said.

The Bombers have dropped from fourth to fifth following their 79-point loss to Collingwood on Sunday, their second consecutive defeat.

“To get the report handed down, these guys, to prepare for a game takes a lot of work and takes a lot of concentration,” Thompson said.

“They were obviously distracted because their career is on the line.

“They’re not happy.

“It (Essendon’s recent poor form) is not so much a physical thing. I think it’s a mental thing.”