AFL Northern Territory (AFLNT) wishes to advise the appeal against the Tribunal’s decision in the matter of Matt Campbell from the Darwin Buffaloes Football Club has been dismissed.
At the time of the Tribunal hearing, Campbell contested the charge of engaging in rough conduct against player number 3 of the St Mary’s Football Club in the third quarter of the TIO NTFL Men’s Premier League match between St Mary’s and Darwin Buffaloes at TIO Stadium on Friday 25 January 2019.
On reviewing the available footage and hearing the evidence provided, the Tribunal found Campbell guilty of intentional conduct, low impact and high contact and issued him with a three-match suspension.
On appeal, the Darwin Buffaloes Football Club argued that the decision of the Tribunal was in error in failing to find that Campbell was provoked and therefore his conduct was not unreasonable. The Darwin Buffaloes also argued that the Tribunal had misinterpreted the guidelines as to multiple reportable offences arising from the same event.
The Appeals Board dismissed the appeal in its entirety, finding that there was no error of law and the Tribunal exercised its discretion correctly. In addition, they found the Darwin Buffaloes interpretation of the guidelines as to multiple reportable offences was incorrect.
In summary, Campbell’s penalty of three matches stands, meaning he has a two-match penalty remaining.
