Judd regrets 'stupidity' as ban stands - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Judd regrets 'stupidity' as ban stands

10/09/2009 08:03:16 PM Comments (0)

Carlton skipper Chris Judd says he regrets two moments of stupidity after the appeals board ended any chance he had of playing in the Blues' opening three games of the 2010 AFL season.

The board upheld the tribunal's decision from Tuesday night of a three-game ban after finding the star midfielder guilty of making unnecessary and unreasonable contact to the face of Brisbane's Michael Rischitelli.

Judd described the incident, which occurred early in the second quarter of Saturday night's elimination final at the Gabba, as "less than a second's worth of stupidity".

But he said his decision to front media the following day and make what he has since claimed was a joke, about searching for a "pressure point" behind Rischitelli's neck, was an even bigger mistake.

"Obviously the act itself was less than a second's worth of stupidity," Judd said.

"Probably even more stupid was my comments in the press the next day, with reference to a pressure point.

"Obviously this (pressure points) is something which I know nothing about.

"It was a comment which evoked a lot of passion amongst both the media and the public alike.

"I've since watched a couple of (martial arts action star) Steven Seagal movies and realised that pressure points are no laughing matter.

"I look forward to watching Carlton start strongly next year and I look forward to taking the field in round four with them."

He declined to answer, when asked if he felt the week's events had damaged his previously high-standing reputation.

The Blues' appeal, which lasted about 90 minutes, followed much the same lines as their original tribunal case.

Their argument centred on the claim that the impact of Judd's contact to the face of Rischitelli was so low it should not have constituted an offence at all.

Judd's advocate, David Grace QC, replayed a segment of the tribunal instructional video the AFL sent to all clubs at the start of the year, demonstrating the type of incidents that are categorised as "low impact".

Grace argued the three incidents shown in the video clearly caused a much greater impact than Judd's brief touch to Rischitelli's face, which was also categorised as low impact.

"When you compare those incidents to the incident in this case the contrast could not be more stark," he said.

But the board's legal counsel Jeff Gleeson SC countered by saying it was reasonable to expect a different standard to be applied when assessing face contact as opposed to judging hits to other parts of the body.

"What may be regarded as reasonable contact to one part of the body is not necessarily reasonable when it comes to the face," he said.

After less than 10 minutes of deliberation, the three-man board dismissed the appeal.

"We can't impeach that finding (of the tribunal) nor can we say it was not open to the jury to find as they did," appeals board chairman Peter O'Callaghan QC said.

"We are not satisfied there are exceptional or compelling circumstances, so in those circumstances the appeal is dismissed."

Judd joins fellow AFL stars, Hawthorn's Lance Franklin and Essendon's Matthew Lloyd, in being forced to sit out the start of next season through suspension, although Lloyd is yet to decide whether he will play on next year anyway.

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