Zak Butters has avoided a ban over a late tackle that caused a storm against Western Bulldogs.
The Port Adelaide star risked suspension again weeks after he was subject to a tribunal over an alleged comment made towards umpire Nick Foot.
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Butters smashed Joel Freijah with a late, high tackle in the last quarter of Friday night’s match.
The ball was long gone and Butters only had his eyes on his opponent, though it is not clear if he made contact with his head.
The AFL cleared him of any wrongdoing so he is still in contention to win the 2026 Brownlow Medal.
The Match Review Officer ruled that Butters made “predominately body contact with Freijah” and has therefore not taken any action against the Port star.
”Based on all available evidence, it was the view of the MRO that any high contact to Freijah was negligible and as a result, Butters’ actions did not constitute a reportable offence,” the MRO said in a statement.
It comes after Butters’ actions sparked fury on the pitch as several Dogs stars rushed him as he knelt on the ground.
Players began pushing and shoving his head, clearly fuming with the tackle.
It is the last thing Butters needs after narrowly avoiding sanction for allegedly questioning Foot’s integrity.
Foot claims Butters said “How much are they paying you?”, which he took as a shot at his professionalism, while Butters insists he only questioned the decision by saying words to the effect of “surely that’s not a free kick”.
Butters was initially found guilty but won his appeal after successfully arguing there was an error of law when jury member Jason Johnson left the deliberations for around 80 seconds and finished the Tribunal hearing in his car before attending a real estate inspection.
“It was clearly an error of law that had a material impact on the decision of the Tribunal,” Appeal Board chair Will Houghton found.
