The AFL has unveiled its overhaul of the tribunal system…
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The AFL has overhauled in controversial tribunal system, abandoning the use of demerit points.
Offences will now be categorised as either fines or suspensions, and there will no longer be any carryover points for incidents.
Instead of rating offences as negligent, reckless or intentional, the Match Review Panel (MRP) will now classify whether conduct is intentional or careless.
The MRP will now issue fines and two- or three-game suspensions, with more serious cases being sent straight to the tribunal while players can still take discounts on early pleas.
Under the new Brownlow rules, a player must be suspended to become ineligible, meaning they can win the award despite accepting fines for offences such as tripping or jumper-punches.
“We’ve worked hard to deliver a system that was going to be simpler and deliver more appropriate outcomes,” AFL operations manager Mark Evans told AFL.com.au.
“So getting rid of carryover points and percentage loading helps incidents to be assessed on the merit of that particular event.
“Given the way we now scrutinise the game with multiple angles and the Match Review Panel, we thought it was more appropriate to treat those (minor incidents) as financial sanctions while still retaining the ability to send bigger incidents directly to the Tribunal or to upgrade them to more serious suspensions.
“I think fans will regard the system as simpler. I’m sure there will still be debate around comparing certain incidents from games or the way it’s been graded.”
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