THREE days after receiving the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority report into Essendon's 2012 supplements program, the AFL remains unsure when it will have a resolution to the ongoing saga.
The AFL received the 400-page report late on Friday before handing it over to the Bombers on Sunday afternoon.
AFL deputy chief executive Gillon McLachlan said League general counsel Andrew Dillon was now considering the report.
"If any action is to be taken, he'll make the decision when it's appropriate. I'm not sure when that's going to be," McLachlan said on Monday.
"He has to consider what's in there and then make a decision when he's ready.
"We're keen to bring this to a head before the finals. We're hopeful that will be done, but the process has got to play out."
McLachlan has returned from an equalisation fact-finding mission in the US, but chief executive Andrew Demetriou remains overseas.
Demetriou will return to Australia on Wednesday after attending a global sports conference in the US.
McLachlan said he was bemused by criticism of the League boss for being overseas during a turbulent period for the competition.
"He's speaking at an international conference on wagering and the trip was tied around him being the keynote speaker at that conference," McLachlan said.
"That's why the trip was the week before, because he had a longstanding commitment to that conference.
"I think it's criticism from the media. I'm not sure anyone in the public really cares, or our clubs.
"We've been awaiting the report. The report is finalised.
"He, like all of our commissioners, now has the report, and the plane ride back will give him plenty of time to read the report."
Nathan Schmook is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter @AFL_Nathan
