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Steven May has been banned for five matches by the AFL Tribunal for his high bump on Stefan Martin.
May will miss matches against North Melbourne, Geelong, Melbourne, GWS and Adelaide before being free to return in Round 10 against West Coast.
The ban leaves Gold Coast without their two first-choice key defenders as Rory Thompson is currently injured.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to say I accept the Tribunal’s decision and to thank them for a fair hearing,” said May after the hearing.
“I would also like to reinforce that I am very remorseful that in the heat of the game I overstepped the mark, I am disappointed in my action and for that I have apologised to Stefan.
“As a result of my action on the weekend I let down everyone connected to the Gold Coast Suns and for that I apologise to the club, my teammates and our members and fans.
“Clearly I made the wrong choice to leave the ground when bumping Stefan. I’ve got work to do on my technique, and that is something I will need to improve.
“During my suspension I look forward to helping the team in any way possible to ensure we capitalise on our positive start to the season.”
Tonight Steven May will learn his fate after a high bump on Stefan Martin during the weekend saw the Gold Coast defender refered directly to the AFL Tribunal. Join The Roar for live updates and the verdict from 5pm AEST.
May’s bump on Martin made headlines on Saturday as Martin and Gary Ablett rushed down the ground at full pace, Martin focusing purely on the ball allowing May to line him up for a bump that many have condemned as being unsportsmanlike.
What is really the killer for May is that the bump wound up being high contact – May left off the ground to deliver the bump and caught Martin in the head, leaving him absolutely flattened and ending his participation in the match.
Had May kept a bit lower and simply delivered a body blow it might have been the kind of bump that would be lauded for its courage and physicality – after all, you’ve got to be pretty bold to put yourself in front of 110kg of Stefan Martin coming at you at full pace.
But, May’s decision to leave the ground and risk high contact has made it a very dislikable act in the eyes of many and as a result there’s no question as to whether or not he will be banned, but simply for how long.
The good news for Martin is that he passed his concussion test on Monday and at this stage is a strong chance of being fit to take on the Western Bulldogs this week.
That might be good news for May too as if the injury resulting from the incident had been more severe that would likely have increased the willingness of the tribunal to hand out a lengthy ban.
A ban of three weeks or so probably looks like the absolute minimum for May, but some have called for a much longer absence for the Gold Coast defender, and that may well be the case.
We’ll have live updates from the tribunal including the verdict when the hearing begins at 5pm.