Former Fremantle captain Peter Bell has condemned Lachie Neale’s “predictable” tribunal outcome after the Lions star was cleared to play in the grand final, saying the AFL has treated “fans like fools”.
Neale was handed a one-match ban for gut-punching Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan during Brisbane’s preliminary final win on Saturday, a decision that was upheld at Tuesday’s marathon four-and-a-half hour tribunal.
The suspension was taken to the appeals board on Thursday, which sensationally downgraded the ban to a $10,000 fine after more than two-and-a-half hours of deliberation, leaving the two-time Brownlow medallist free to play.
The decision left a sour taste in Bell’s mouth, who called out the result for being “entirely predictable”.
“I’d just rather we do without the rigmarole and all the charade, and we just have ‘we don’t think he should miss a grand final for this’,” Bell said on SEN. “Because that’s what it is really.”
During Thursday’s appeal, Brisbane’s lawyer Adrian Anderson argued that Neale should not have been suspended under “exceptional and compelling circumstances” given his clean record over 320 games.
A point that appeals board chairperson Richard Loveridge agreed with when downgrading the ban into a fine.
“What error of law was there that one tribunal or one panel don’t take into account exemplary record enough?,” Bell argued.
“To my way of thinking, that’s not really an error of law, that’s just subjective discretion.
“The appeal was you didn’t consider (the exemplary circumstances) enough . . . that’s not an error of law, that’s just one panel having a different opinion to the other.
Bell acknowledged that he doesn’t have issue with Neale playing on the big stage, but he does have a problem with the AFL’s handling of the situation, saying the league treats fans like fools.
“I don’t have a problem with it, really, just call it what it is - ‘we don’t want him to miss a grand final for that strike’.”
“I don’t mind him playing, in some ways it might be a good thing, I just feel like they treat the general public and footy fans like fools,” he said.
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