Former Adelaide skipper Mark Ricciuto isn’t ready to back away from his claim that Essendon coach James Hird has been urged to resign over the AFL club’s supplements scandal.
The Bombers and Hird have denied that the coach has been issued an ultimatum to resign by Thursday or “someone else might make the decision for him”.
Essendon issued a statement on Monday night saying they categorically denied what they termed a baseless rumour.
Hird on Tuesday repeated that denial.
“I think if you read the Essendon statement, they’re all untrue,” Hird told reporters at Windy Hill.
But Ricciuto told Adelaide’s Triple M radio on Tuesday that while he hoped he was wrong, he had received the information from someone he regarded as a credible source.
He said it was not unknown for AFL clubs to deny things that turned out to be true, although he stressed he wasn’t accusing the Bombers of lying.
“They could (be). I’m not saying they are,” Ricciuto said.
“And I’m not saying James is guilty here and I never said that last night.
“Of course that (issuing a denial) is what they’re going to come out and do.
“A lot of people do come out and make statements at times.
“I’m not going to make another statement saying that they’re lying here either.
“But it’s not unusual for them to come out and defend themselves, but time will tell.”
Hird said he hadn’t been shocked or frustrated by Ricciuto’s initial claim, as he had become used to hearing allegations he regarded as false throughout the six-month saga.
“I’m not shocked by anything in this investigation or this process,” he said.
“There seems to be a lot of rumour and innuendo that has no fact to it.”
The AFL on Friday received the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) report into the Bombers, which was also handed to the club on Sunday.
Hird wasn’t sure about the timing of the process from now and when he and the Bombers would get the chance to offer a more forthright public statement.
But he said what he most wanted to see was the players absolved of blame.
“It depends when we’re allowed to speak about the report,” Hird said.
“It depends when, more importantly and most importantly, our players have the chance to be cleared.
“I think that the most important thing in this is that our players are cleared.
“Hopefully very soon, our players get a chance to come out and say that they’re clear.”