AFTER a week-and-a-half of acrimony, an uneasy peace descended over football last night as Channel Seven backed down in its bid to name several players who have allegedly tested positive to illicit drugs.

The players and the network agreed to bury the hatchet after a day of frenetic lawyer-to-lawyer negotiations between Melbourne and Sydney, and a telephone conversation between Seven chief David Leckie and AFL counterpart Andrew Demetriou.

It was an uneasy accord, brokered by the AFL, and negotiated over the phone and via email.

Seven blinked. This morning, it will drop its legal challenge to the injunction taken out by the doctor treating several players, which has prevented publication of their names or their club.

But it did not capitulate. The network did not apologise, as requested by the players and the AFL, and did not acknowledge that it was wrong to publish the original story, in which it named the club, resulting in a player boycott of the code's official broadcaster.

The Herald Sun, which had also considered fighting the injunction, declared last night that it would not publish the material or fight the suppression.

The network, which started the controversy on August 24, with an explosive report into drug-taking by several players at an AFL club, pledged not to report any of the details it had obtained from allegedly stolen medical records that it had bought for $3000.

"We are happy that Seven has made this decision," Mr Demetriou said. "We look forward to getting on with working together and building our relationship."

In the end it was in everybody's interest. Seven management, and Mr Leckie in particular, as well as those who broadcast football for the network, simply wanted an end to the damage caused by incessant scrutiny from other media and a breakdown in relations with the player group that led to the network's reporters being boycotted.

It is all the AFL — trapped between its players and its broadcast partner — had ever wanted. But others in the Seven newsroom had felt it was important to defend the story and the station's right to broadcast sensitive material in the event of a strong public interest.

The Players' Association was a little different. Wounded and angry, players wanted two things: one of them procedural, the other symbolic. They wanted the names of those two men and their club to never see the light of day. And they wanted an apology. They settled on winning the former of their objectives and at least a semblance of the latter. Though not a real apology, the statement was nevertheless a watershed moment as the might of a TV network gave way to the power of player unity and collective representation.

The original report — breathlessly spruiked as an exclusive that would shock the football world — had been delivered by reporter Dylan Howard. But Howard, who has attracted fierce criticism from many in football this past week, was nowhere to be seen as the compromise was unveiled on the station's news bulletin last night.

The Age understands the reporter — who was sacked by radio station 3AW on Monday over a separate issue — has taken leave after being cautioned by Seven, which was upset that he continued to publicly discuss the controversy and grant media interviews over the weekend, after he was asked to remain silent.

But Seven's head of news and current affairs Peter Meakin launched a strong defence of his reporter last night: "He is a valued member of our staff," Mr Meakin said. "As far as we are concerned, he has done nothing wrong in all of this. He has the support of the network and we respect him as a journalist."

Rumours swirled yesterday that Howard was to be charged over the incident by Victoria police as television news crews staked out Heidelberg police station. It never happened. A police spokesman said last night that investigation into the airing of the story was continuing.

The AFL Players Association executive was meeting last night and was expected this morning to lift a ban on players speaking to reporters from the network or participating in interviews as part of Seven's football coverage.

Rather than apologising for its behaviour in airing the program, the TV station settled on expressing regret for the subsequent damage caused. "The Seven Network values the cooperation it receives from AFL players and sincerely regrets any damage which has been caused to our relationship with the players," the statement said.