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The AFL tribunal has been criticised for considering character references in handing Bachar Houli a two-match ban for knocking out Carlton’s Jed Lamb.
Houli was found guilty of striking Lamb in conduct deemed intentional, with high impact to the head, that left the Blues forward laid out on the MCG turf.
The AFL argued for a four-week sanction.
But Houli is known as one of the game’s good guys, particularly for his work in the community, and Richmond could contemplate appealing the suspension.
On Tuesday, the tribunal jury – David Neitz, Hamish McIntosh and Wayne Henwood – dismissed Houli’s argument the incident was careless instead of intentional conduct.
But they sparked outcry when they handed down the two-game sanction, citing his exemplary character.
References from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Network Ten presenter Waleed Aly were a key part of the jury’s penalty deliberations, much to the consternation of AFL match review panel member Nathan Burke.
“I would probably much prefer if you just looked purely at the incident and graded it on that,” Burke told Fox Sports News.
“If you start bringing in ‘this bloke’s a good bloke, this bloke’s not a good bloke’, who are we to actually judge who is a good bloke and who isn’t in the first place?
“And then what we end up with are disparate sentences. If somebody goes in next week and does exactly the same thing but doesn’t know Waleed Aly, doesn’t know the prime minister, does that mean they get three or four weeks?”
Former tribunal member Daniel Harford says Houli’s ban is “absolutely, manifestly inadequate” and rubbing him out for six weeks could be considered a fair punishment.
He expects the AFL to appeal the sentence.
“You cannot have a situation with a player willingly, which was deemed by the tribunal, hitting someone … with force enough to knock someone out cold, to serve a two-week suspension,” Harford said on RSN radio on Wednesday.
“I don’t care how good a bloke is Monday to Friday.
“It’s no relevance to what he does on the field.”
The case was referred directly to the tribunal under the match review panel guidelines but the final sanction is the same as it would have been if it had been assessed as careless conduct with high impact to the head – three games down to two with an early plea.
Although Houli appeared to get off lightly, Richmond may appeal the verdict on his behalf.
The devout Muslim was clearly disappointed by the finding after stating in his evidence.
“I’ve never, ever, intended to hurt anyone – it’s part of my practice of my religion. I’m a peaceful person,” he said.
The 29-year-old has played 162 AFL games over 11 seasons and eight years as a junior without being suspended.
His only disciplinary blemish was a fine for wrestling Greater Western Sydney’s Rhys Palmer in 2014.
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