The Australian rules football players were given two-year suspensions after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appeal in January of this year.

The SFT ruled that, because the players had earlier accepted the verdict of the CAS, they had "lost their right to challenge the CAS jurisdiction in appeal".

WADA had contested the decision of the Australian Football League (AFL) Anti-Doping Tribunal, who said there was insufficient evidence to find the players guilty of offences arising from the club’s controversial 2012 supplements programme, with the CAS then ruling in their favour.

The case was born out of an investigation in February 2013 by the Australian Crime Commission, which released the Organised Crime and Drugs in Sport report, alleging widespread doping in Australian sport.

As a result, in June 2014, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) initiated action against the players, via the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal, alleging doping through the use of the banned peptide Thymosin Beta-4.

The majority were banned for two years but their suspensions were backdated, with some ending next month, clearing them to return to the sport in time for the new AFL season.

They missed the 2016 campaign, however, which culminated in the Western Bulldogs beating Sydney in the Grand Final.

As a result of the doping bans, Essendon - whose record of 16 Premiership titles is the best in the sport's history - failed to qualify for the finals and finished bottom of the 18 teams in the ladder round.

"The SFT added that, even if the jurisdiction of CAS had been properly challenged by the players, CAS jurisdiction in this matter would have been confirmed and the appeal would have been dismissed," a statement from the CAS read.

"As a consequence, the Arbitral Award rendered in this matter and the sanctions imposed on the players remain in force."

The development could have ramifications for Essendon captain Jobe Watson, who received the Brownlow Medal, awarded each season to the player judged fairest and best in the AFL, in 2012.

An AFL Commission is reviewing whether he should be allowed to keep the award.

Essendon chairman Lindsay Tanner said the SFT’s decision had not changed the view that the penalty handed down by the CAS was "manifestly unfair on our players".

"The club received notification this evening that the players’ appeal has been dismissed by the Swiss Federal Court," he said.

"It is obviously disappointing for our players.

"The club respected and supported the players' decision to exercise the only legal right to appeal they had in this process.

"We maintain our view that the decision and penalty handed down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport was manifestly unfair on our players."