by Dutchy » Wed Aug 10, 2022 9:32 pm
A former AFL player has taken his three match ban for elbowing an opposing player to the Supreme Court in a desperate bid to be eligible for the finals of an amateur football league.
Jesse White was suspended for three games for striking an opposing player while playing for Broadview in the Division Two competition of the SA Amateur Football League.
He has already served sat out two of the games, but if he sits out the third, the final game of the season this Saturday – he will be left ineligible for the finals.
Mr White played 280 games across his 13 year career which included stints with both the AFL and VFL for Collingwood.
Sam Abbott QC, for Mr White, told Supreme Court Auxiliary Justice Sydney Tilmouth his client was applying to have the decision of the league’s disciplinary tribunal quashed.
Mr Abbott said Mr White was denied procedural fairness when the Tribunal took into account a disciplinary history sourced from a website which showed the former Collingwood Magpies and Sydney Swans player had been fined for misconduct.
Mr White had told the tribunal he had no previous disciplinary issues and when shown the new documents said he had no knowledge of the fines.
“These were not allegations which bought him before a tribunal, they were fines which may very well have been paid by the club without Mr White’s knowledge,” Mr Abbott said.
“Put in criminal parlances it is like a record of previous convictions was produced before sentence and the accused did not agree with them but he was sentenced anyway.”
In an affidavit read partially to the court, Mr White adamantly denied paying any fines for misconduct.
Mr Abbott said the tribunal incorrectly concluded that Mr White had been lying about the previous incidents and refused to suspend any of the punishment.
Because of the success of Broadview this season, Mr White is standing to lose at least two match fees if he misses the finals.
Mr Abbott asked the court to overturn the initial ban and remit it back to the tribunal for another decision.
Paul d’Assumpcao, for SAAFL, said asked the court to dismiss the application – saying that even if the previous misconduct had been taken into account, it would not have made a difference to the ban.
“Even if there was a hiccup along the way, it would not have changed the outcome,” he said.
“The decision maker does not need to give a running commentary and the point about the previous misconduct was not taken any further and they did not deliberate on it.”
Justice Tilmouth will hand down his decision on Thursday afternoon.
