TENSIONS have heightened between the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and Essendon lawyers after ASADA learned through Twitter that the club was seeking an 'urgent injunction’.
 
The authority has now agreed it will give 34 past and present Bombers players handed show-cause notices an additional seven days notice if it intends to take any further action but AFL.com.au understands that ASADA has been frustrated by the lawyers use of social media.
 
"Essendon Football Club’s lawyers (Maurice Blackburn Lawyers) were notified early this morning of the extension," ASADA said in a statement released to AFL.com.au late on Monday. 

 "A short time after this notice was given to Maurice Blackburn, and without any further conferral with ASADA, ASADA became aware of Essendon’s application for an urgent injunction via a tweet from a principal at Maurice Blackburn."
 
Lawyers for Essendon have lodged more paperwork with the Federal Court, seeking to completely halt ASADA's investigation into the club's 2012 supplements regime, pending the conclusion of court action.
 
If successful, the injunction would also stop the Anti-Doping Rule Violation Panel from even considering placing players on the 'register of findings,' which could then prompt infraction notices.
 
It is expected an 'urgent' injunction application will be heard on Friday, when Essendon's planned court action against ASADA is slated to have its first hearing.
 
In its statement, ASADA accused Essendon of trying to "stall its investigations and completely prevent the Authority from disclosing information in accordance with the Act."
 
"To agree to the undertaking would have stopped ASADA performing its statutory functions until the conclusion of the Federal Court case and resulted in further delays," the statement said. 
 
 "ASADA believes the decision by Essendon to lodge an application for an urgent injunction is premature, given the further extension provided by ASADA today."
 
ASADA also confirmed that it had not provided any material to the independent Anti-Doping Rule Violation Panel regarding the 34 AFL players and would not do so without seven days further written notice to the players.
 
Maurice Blackburn lawyer Josh Bornstein said it was 'very disappointing' ASADA had refused to suspend its investigation.
 
"We have written three times to ASADA’s lawyers seeking their cooperation to ensure this matter is dealt with quickly by the court and that pending a quick hearing, the investigation and show-cause process be halted," Bornstein said in a statement.
 
"On each occasion ASADA has failed to agree to our request for an appropriate undertaking," he said.
 
"It's in the interests of all concerned – the club, the players, the AFL and the football community more broadly – for this legal challenge to be dealt with as quickly as possible.
 
"It is only fair that ASADA commit to take no further steps in its investigation until after the Federal Court has ruled on the legality of the investigation.
 
"If ASADA proceeds, the court will be prevented from effectively ruling on the legality of the investigation because events will have overtaken the legal process."

 
Twitter: @MattThompson