The AFL tribunal has come under fire after Gold Coast defender Charlie Ballard had a suspension overturned, with ex-Hawk Daniel Harford saying the game had “been done a disservice”.
Ballard was initially handed a one-match ban for his hit on Essendon’s Matt Guelfi, with the incident graded as intentional conduct with low impact and high contact by the AFL’s match review officer, Michael Christian.
However, when fronting the tribunal on Tuesday night, Ballard claimed that he’d attempted to fend off Guelfi to “not get blocked”.
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“They (Essendon players) were trying to block me and stop me getting to the ball to defend,” he said.
“I was just trying to avoid that in the most efficient way.”
After deliberating for over 20 minutes, Ballard’s hit on Guelfi was downgraded from intentional conduct to careless, freeing him to face Geelong in round three.
It was a call that left Harford baffled, particularly given the AFL has been so intent on protecting players’ heads in recent years.
“The game has been done a disservice with that outcome,” Harford told RSN927.
“In this current environment, let alone the fact that the standards and the expectations of the game and fans have changed significantly in the last 10 years, that is an absolute joke. The game has been let down by that outcome.
“We saw a player, who was clearly frustrated and chose to strike an opponent in the neck, which was judged the head, with his forearm – and they were able to get that downgraded from intentional to careless.
“In any system, let alone my football and non-football act system, that’s as intentional as you’ll come across. If you choose to raise your arm and strike someone in the neck/head region, you should be suspended before you even get in the tribunal doors.
“That is a joke. I’m so disappointed, so angry about that … I could not believe that got downgraded.”
Ballard was one of two players to front the tribunal on Tuesday, with Richmond defender Nathan Broad handed a four-match ban for a dangerous tackle on Adelaide’s Patrick Parnell.
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