AFL Appeal Board dismisses umpire abuse charge
Updated ,first published
Your daily football news package in today’s AFL Briefing:
- The AFL appeals panel has sensationally rejected Zak Butters’ referee mistreatment decision following a “miscarriage of justice”.
- Tom Liberatore will undergo regular concussion protocols before returning to play.
- Collingwood captain Darcy Moore is closing in on a return to Anzac Day.
‘His mind was somewhere else’: Port targets court member Johnson
Hannah Kennelly
The AFL appeal panel has sensationally thrown out Zak Butters’ referee abuse ruling after Port Adelaide successfully argued there was a “miscarriage of justice” during the tribunal hearing.
Butters was fined $1,500 last week after the AFL Tribunal found him guilty of using abusive or insulting language towards an official.
Butters never asked referee Nick Foot “How much do they pay you?” He claimed that he did not ask. after picking up a 50m penalty during the Gather Round clash between the Power and St Kilda at Adelaide Oval on Sunday night.
Port Adelaide’s star midfielder said he remembered saying “definitely this is not a free kick”.
At Monday’s hearing, Port Adelaide representative Paul Ehrlich KC argued AFL Tribunal member Jason Johnson was distracted during last week’s hearing, disconnected from his desktop and rejoined on his phone from inside his car on the way to an appointment.
Ehrlich said it was a miscarriage of justice for Johnson to listen to part of the AFL Tribunal hearing while driving.
“This wasn’t just a change in platform… from recent submissions it appears that his mind was elsewhere because he was conscious that he had to go or be late for his duty. [real estate] Open control,” Ehrlich said.
Ehrlich argued that a reasonable and well-educated person was entitled “at least to doubt that Johnson is not performing his duty in accordance with his obligations.”
Ehrlich had to apologize multiple times for his dog barking in the background as he presented his views. At one point the dog entered the room and jumped on the couch.
Ehrlich had to lower his volume and turn off his camera while the dog was being let out.
AFL representative Albert Dinelli KC said Johnson’s decision to interrupt and rejoin the hearing was “regrettable” but argued it did not amount to an error of law and had “no material impact on the case”.
Dinelli maintained that Johnson fully participated in the hearing despite being on his phone.
After 15 minutes of deliberation, AFL Appeals Board chairman Will Houghton upheld the appeal and accepted Johnson’s conduct amounted to an error of law.
“It was clearly an error of law that had a material impact on the court’s decision,” Houghton said.
Houghton said Johnson acknowledged that his attention might be “diverted” from the case as he went to his appointment.
The AFL Appeals Board recommended that the case be sent to another court and heard.
But Dinelli said his instructions were not to do so, and Butters’ charge and subsequent $1,500 fine were dismissed.
Port Adelaide confirmed in a statement that they would not seek a retrial.
“While Port Adelaide welcomes the dismissal of this matter, the club maintains its position that the court process should be reviewed,” they said.
In a separate statement released on Monday, the AFL apologized to Ports players Butters and Ollie Wines, the club’s football manager Ben Rutten and AFL referee Nick Foot for the legal error and the inconvenience it caused.
“The AFL reiterates its strong support for the AFL Tribunal and all those who have made a significant contribution to the operation of the AFL disciplinary system, including former players who bring an important perspective to these issues,” they said.
“The AFL also expresses its strong support for referees at all levels and the vital role they play in our sport.
“The AFL will now reflect on the appeal panel’s reasons and what has been learned from tonight’s outcome.”
Liberatore not expected to face concussion panel
Michael Gleeson
Tom Liberatore will undergo regular concussion protocols and there are no plans for the Bulldogs midfielder to appear before an independent concussion panel to be cleared to return to play.
Liberatore had a history of head injuries in the game, including the year he was sidelined for an open-ended period in 2024. crashed randomly during gameplay.
The Bulldogs said at this point Liberatore was being treated under usual protocols with no requirement or plan for him to consult an AFL panel.
“Nothing on the panel at this stage, it’s just in the concussion protocol,” Bulldogs football manager Sam Power said.
“I know there’s a bit of a rumor going around because of his history, but at this stage it’s just normal protocol and we’ll see how he does.”
Meanwhile, captain Marcus Bontempelli has been cleared of serious structural damage caused by slight hyperextension of his knee during Friday night’s defeat to Geelong. Bontempelli was thought to have some bruising to his bones, but Dogs Power said he was back on his feet fine and all was well.
Rory Lobb is cleared from a hamstring injury and will potentially be available this week.
Ryan Gardiner and Jed Busslinger both played well in the VFL and returned to form as a replacement for James O’Donnell, who tore his hamstring. The Dogs will also need to find a replacement for Sam Darcy, who suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Adam Treloar had 41 touches in the VFL and is likely to replace Liberatore.
‘It feels great’: Star Magpie returns but Bombers dealt injury blow
Jon Pierik
Collingwood captain Darcy Moore says he is feeling great and is about to return for Anzac Day but Essendon have ruled out a key defender for the showpiece event.
Moore, 30, had a terrible season this season due to injury and managed only one match.
He returned in round three after damaging a calf in pre-season, but then suffered hamstring and knee problems against Greater Western Sydney.
Moore said Monday that he trained strongly on Friday and is ready to step up his preparation in the Tuesday and Thursday sessions.
“I had a really good session last Friday, made some big breakthroughs. The body feels great,” Moore said.
“So yeah, I’m in a great position to train fully this week and hopefully have my hand raised by the end of the week. So yeah, watch this space.”
Moore denied returning too soon to face the Giants.
“I put my hand up; I was ready to go. I’m responsible for that decision. So yeah, I was definitely ready to go,” he said.
The Prime Minister’s defender said this season had been a “challenge” for him personally, but pointed out that the season was still young.
Midfielder Jordan De Goey suffered a concussion but the Magpies hope he will be fit to continue.
Moore and his Essendon counterpart McGrath were at the Shrine of Remembrance on Monday morning for a wreath-laying ceremony in preparation for Saturday’s clash, the biggest event in the AFL calendar outside the finals.
The Bombers have been in good form over the last three weeks but will be without defender Jordan Ridley (low-grade calf strain), who left the field at the start of the second half against the Suns on Saturday and did not return.
McGrath confirmed Ridley will not play.
“I don’t think so. At this stage Jordan has a minor calf injury and, given his history, they’re being quite cautious with his approach,” McGrath said.
“We’ll see how he presents during the week, but I don’t think the weekend will be realistic.”
The Magpies eased the pressure with a five-point win over Carlton at the MCG last Thursday but had a chance to escape victory when young Blue Talor Byrne fired a set-piece shot to level the game after the final siren.
The Magpies, who have struggled to score goals all season long, scored the highest point of the season with 88 points on Thursday night, increasing their record to 3-3 and ensuring their place in the final match.
Nick Daicos was superb all night, making 39 disposals, nine tackles and gaining 449 meters in his 100th game, while small forward Jamie Elliott – who has struggled to make an impact at forward of late – kicked three goals.
Moore said strong performances from youngsters Will Hayes, Angus Anderson and Roan Steel were crucial.
“Sometimes you’ve got to win beautifully, sometimes you’ve got to win boldly. It was a pretty gutsy win for us on Thursday night. We definitely didn’t play our best football, but in my experience there’s a lot to take away from those types of games when things don’t fire and flow quite the way you want them to,” Moore said.
Although the Bombers have just one win, their last three weeks have been a dramatic improvement on their winless first four rounds.
An encouraging second half against the Western Bulldogs was followed by a win over Melbourne, followed by a resounding nine-point defeat to title challengers the Suns on Saturday.
They changed the way they defended; Instead of retreating, they pushed up the field more often and captured space.
McGrath said the increased pressure on the ball, especially from midfielders, was crucial.
“We have a lot of core players in midfield and they are around the tackle and we [lack of] the pressure was putting a lot of pressure on our backs,” McGrath said.
“We know we are still not where we want to be and there is a gap between us and the best teams in the competition and we want to close that as quickly as we can.”
The Magpies won the relevant fixture by 41 points last year.
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Hannah Kennelly is an award-winning sports journalist and Formula 1 writer for The Age.Connect via email.
Michael Gleeson is an award-winning senior sports writer specializing in AFL and athletics.Connect with: X or email.
Jon Pierik is a sports reporter for The Age. He covers the AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect with: X or email.
