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AFL Tribunal: Will Schofield not guilty, Bachar Houli cops two-week ban

Half time breack clash the during the Round 14 AFL match between the West Coast Eagles and the Melbourne Demons. (AAP Image/Tony McDonough)
Expert
27th June, 2017
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1116 Reads

Result:

Bachar Houli has been suspended for two matches. Will Schofield has been found not guilty and won’t be suspended.

Preview:

The AFL Tribunal will sit for the first time in 2017 tonight as Will Schofield and Bachar Houli are asked to defend their actions in Round 14. Join The Roar for a live blog of all the developments and the verdits when they come in, with the hearings scheduled to being at 5:30pm AEST.

Schofield was given a two-week ban down to one week with an early plea for striking Clayton Oliver, which came as a shock to many given that the public consensus is that Oliver exaggerated the contact.

Schofield will be hoping he can escape penalty, but it’s not clear what his argument will be, and it’ll be interesting to see if his defense makes any kind of comment about Oliver’s behaviour.

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MRP statement
Will Schofield, West Coast, has been charged with striking Clayton Oliver, Melbourne, during the second quarter of the Round 14 match between West Coast and Melbourne, played at Domain Stadium on Saturday June 24, 2017.

In summary, he can accept a one-match sanction with an early plea.

Based on the available video evidence and a medical report from the Melbourne Football Club, the incident was assessed as intentional conduct with low impact to the head. The incident was classified as a two-match sanction. The player has no applicable record which impacts the penalty. An early plea enables the player to accept a one-match sanction.

Houli was referred directly to the tribunal for knocking out Jed Lamb on Sunday. He’ll get a ban of some sort, but it’s not clear how long.

A key sticking point is likely to be whether or not the contact was intentional. The Match Review Panel found that it was, but Houli’s defense may argue differently.

MRP statement
Bachar Houli, Richmond, has been charged with striking Jed Lamb, Carlton, during the first quarter of the Round 14 match between Richmond and Carlton, played at the MCG on Sunday June 25, 2017.

Based on the available video evidence and a medical report from the Carlton Football Club, the incident was assessed as intentional conduct with high impact to the head. The incident was referred directly to the Tribunal for its decision, with no early plea available to the player. The player has no record which impacts the penalty.

Join The Roar for a live blog of all the developments and the verdits when they come in, with the hearings scheduled to being at 5:30pm AEST.

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