Former Saint Sam Gilbert has accepted a two-year ban for an anti doping violation, according to The Age.
The 33-year old tested positive for cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine on match day after a VFL game in May last year and has been provisionally suspended since.
The defender was no longer on St Kilda's list at the time but their VFL affiliate Sandringham.
It is being reported that he accepted the penalty rather than take the case to a hearing.
Gilbert was not granted a reduction in the ban unlike a number of AFL players. Collingwood’s Sam Murray and Gold Coast’s Brayden Crossley argued that there was no significant fault on their behalf when they tested positive and had their bans reduced to less than two years.
It is possible that Gilbert could apply to have his ban reconsidered under the new WADA law from 2021, where a positive test for cocaine on match day results in a three-month ban, rather than the current two-year standard.
Gilbert retired at the end of 2018 after 208 games with the Saints, which included the 2009 and 2010 grand finals.
