Patrick Cripps is free to play in the final two rounds of the home-and-away season after the AFL Appeals Board overturned his two-match ban in a four-and-a-half-hour hearing.
The Blues’ legal representative argued that the AFL Tribunal upholding Cripps’ ban was not properly instructed and could not reasonably have found that Cripps had hit rival Callum Ah Chee while still labeling the incident a contest where both players had eyes for the ball.
After a lengthy hearing and deliberation process, the Board of Appeals ultimately overturned the Court’s decision.
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Key to the Appeals Board’s decision was the Tribunal’s “lack of procedural fairness”, which amounted to an “error of law”.
Furthermore, the Appeals Board could not see how the Court could have concluded that Cripps’ actions were “in the coup of an opponent”.
The Appeals Board called the Court’s decision unreasonable.
It means Cripps will now be free to play in crunch games against Melbourne and Collingwood as the Blues look to cement a place in their first finals series since 2013.
A full summary of the hearing is in the blog below.
Can’t see the blog? tap here