ESSENDON coach Mark Thompson says a report that he won't pay a $30,000 fine over the club's supplements scandal is wrong.
News Corp papers reported on Saturday that Thompson wrote to AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan outlining his intention to avoid paying the fine, which he said was due later this year.
Thompson was hit with the $30,000 fine in August last year as part of the wide-ranging penalties levied on the club and its key officials.
But after the Bombers' upset win over Port Adelaide, Thompson said the story was incorrect.
"I didn't say that – I don't have to pay the fine until the 31st of October, 2014, that's the invoice date – so I haven't refused to pay," Thompson said.
"(The report's) wrong."
Although insisting he had never refused to pay the fine, Thompson stopped short of confirming he would pay it.
"Well, I'll wait and see," he said.
The report came a day after the 34 current and former Essendon players who have received show-cause notices from ASADA were assured their identities would remain confidential during an impending Federal Court trial. 
Essendon and its suspended coach James Hird have launched simultaneous challenges to the legality of ASADA's joint investigation with the AFL into the Bombers' supplements program. 
The three-day trial is scheduled to begin on August 11.