North Melbourne ruckman Tristan Xerri has been sent directly to the tribunal for appearing to wipe blood on the face of Essendon captain Andy McGrath.
In an incident that has described as “grubby”, Xerri had just kicked a goal before getting involved in a scuffle with McGrath and other Essendon players.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Xerri set to face tribunal over blood smear incident
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He then appeared to wipe his nose, which had been bleeding, and then wipe his finger on McGrath’s face.
7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary revealed Xerri has been sent straight to the tribunal, likely under the charge of “serious misconduct”.
The AFL will officially release the match review officer’s findings later on Sunday.
Early indications suggest he is staring down the barrel of a multi-game suspension.
The incident had shades of a clash between Collingwood champion Nathan Buckley and Geelong tagger Cameron Ling in 2002.
Buckley was suspended for one match for deliberately smearing blood from a cut eyebrow onto the guernsey of Ling in an attempt to force Ling from the field under the blood rule.
Asked about the Xerri incident post-match, North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson said he was unaware of what had happened.
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said “it’s something we don’t want to see … not something that we want to see on our field” when he spoke about the incident on Sunday.
Channel 7 commentator Kate McCarthy described Xerri’s act as “grubby” in a scathing assessment.
“He actually goes back twice. So wipes his nose once, has a look, then wipes his nose again, and then puts it on the face of Andy McGrath,” she said on Footy Feast.
“Absolutely something that I have no doubt Tristan Xerri is regretting right now.
“But it’s gross, to be frank. It’s gross and it’s a grubby act that we don’t want in footy.”
When discussing a potential penalty, Cleary said there’s no “exact framework” around this.
“You talk typically about a bump or a strike and we go to the framework that Michael Christian goes off,” he said on Footy Feast.
“There is no exact science to this. This will go most likely to the tribunal and then it’s up to the tribunal jury to decide.”
Channel 7 also uncovered fresh vision from behind the goals (which you can see in the player at the top of the page) that showed McGrath flooring Xerri minutes before the incident.
Xerri then appeared to tell the umpire that he had blood on his face, but the umpire couldn’t stop the play as the ball was still in play.
He then ended up taking a mark and kicking a goal before things kicked off with McGrath.
“The ball stays in play the whole time. So you can see him here at the bottom of the screen. Go up to the umpire to advise him,” Cleary explained.
“And then on the end of this chain he actually takes the mark. So he stays in play, but he’s well aware that his nose is bleeding at that time.
“But there’s nothing the AFL can do in that moment unless they go above the rules and stop play.”
More to come …
