Sports scientist Stephen Dank is likely to banned for life from the AFL after being found guilty by the AFL’s anti-doping tribunal last night, although his punishment is yet to be determined.

Dank has maintained throughout the supplements saga that Essendon players were not injected with banned substances, and the tribunal agreed, although he was still found guilty of 10 breaches of the competition’s anti-doping code.

His likely expulsion means he will be banned from the two biggest football codes in the country, after he was last year banned from the National Rugby League over his involvement with the Cronulla Sharks.

• CEO calls for AFL drug review
• Bombers weren’t given banned substances: Dank
• Pies perplexed over positive drug test

“The Tribunal has found that the former Essendon support person has been found guilty of 10 breaches of the AFL Anti-Doping Code,” an AFL statement read.

“The breaches include trafficking, attempting to traffick and complicity in matters related to a range of prohibited substances.”

According to the statement, which was released on Friday, the prohibited substances in question include thymosin beta-4 and CJC-1295, the peptide former NRL player Sandor Earl admitted to trafficking.

A decision on the sanctions for Dank will be made at a hearing on May 5.

“The circumstances surrounding the case have been extremely difficult, given the amount of information and the number of parties involved,” AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon said.

In further developments, ASADA chief Ben McDevitt said he would be able to make an ‘informed decision’ on whether to appeal the AFL’s decision to clear 34 Essendon players of taking banned substances given the tribunal’s decision on Dank.

McDevitt has until Tuesday next week to make his decision.

On its website, ASADA posted comment expressing its disappointment in the Dank verdict.

”ASADA is disappointed in the tribunal’s decision to clear Mr Dank of a number of serious alleged violations,” the statement read.

”ASADA notes that all 35 matters were heard concurrently by the tribunal. We also note the tribunal stated its preference was to release their decisions on all 35 matters at the same time. The reality however is that we have only just received the findings on Mr Dank. ASADA is disappointed that this comes as the window of appeal on the first 34 matters rapidly closes.

”ASADA will now consider both decisions in their totality.”

As always, social media delivered its own verdict on the tribunal’s decision:

So the AFL is blaming Stephen Dank for everything. NOBODY at Essendon FC was guilty of anything. Of course not. #FFS what a joke.

— Mal Booth (@malbooth) April 17, 2015

So the #Essendon players were not guilty of taking the drugs advocated, administered by #StephenDank but he’s guilty for his part.

– with AAP