How do tribunal discounts work?

[Mervyn Beasley]

Hopefully someone can clear this up for me.
This is not a comment on how many weeks Hall should have got but a tribunal question so hopefully can stay on main board.

I am confused bu the guilty discount.

I thought the whole idea of the guilty discount was to avoid going to the tribunal.

I.e. Yes sir I did it. Thanks for your honesty, you get 3 instead of 4 which is what u would get by fighting it and losing it at the tribunal.

From what I can make out Hall was obviously guilty before going to the tribunal thus it was just a matter of deciding how many.
In short I thought once you were at the tribunal, guilty discounts were off the table.

 

[clobba]

I was more bemused than amused actually when I read that myself, as my understanding was that you could contest the result (lol good luck) or not but that pleading guilty made no difference.

 

[Haydos]

My understanding is that the tribunal was under no obligation to offer a 25% discount, but rather did so at the request of Barry Halls lawyer. Barry Halls laywer argued that Hall should be given the reduction based on his early admission of guilt and acceptance of his fate. Clearly this is the reason for Hall's press conference on the day after the match.

But I dont believe there was any requirement for Hall to get 25% in this case.

 

[Wojee]

How do tribunal discounts work?

After five regular sized punches the next one is free.

 

[Longy413]

From what I can make out Hall was obviously guilty before going to the tribunal thus it was just a matter of deciding how many.
In short I thought once you were at the tribunal, guilty discounts were off the table.

He wasn't obviously guilty as such.

As I understand it, under the points system, if the points add up to a certain level, the matter gets sent straight to the tribunal. This is what happens in Hall's case.

All players still have the option to state their case.

Technically, he still could have gone to the tribunal, said he was not guilty and got off.

 

[Vader]

Effectively the AFL has 2 systems in place - the Match Review Panel and the Tribunal.

Incidents are initially assessed by the MRP, who determine what penalty should be applied based on the points system. If a player accepts the offer made by the MRP, then the discount is applied. If the player chooses to challenge the MRP finding then they can take it to the tribunal, losing the option of a discount along the way.

However, the MRP also has the option of referring incidents directly to the tribunal if they consider them to be too serious for the penalties under the points system to be applicable. The most the MRP can actually hand out is a 4 week suspension +/- 1 or 2 weeks, depending upon the record of the player (good or bad) and any carry-over points the player may have on their existing record.

Hall's hit maxed out all three categories - high (to the head), serious (impact), intentional. It clearly warranted more than a 4 week suspension, so they referred it directly to the tribunal.

Once a player has to front the tribunal they no longer have the option of a 25% discount for an early plea. The tribunal's decision is final - do not pass go, do not collect $200. The tribunal are also not bound by the points based system for determining the length of any suspensions - they could easily hand out a life ban (for example if a player were to hit an umpire in the same manner which Hall hit Staker).

In being referred directly to the tribunal, Hall lost the ability to gain a 25% discount by pleading guilty (his much publicised mea culpa had no impact on the verdict, nor should it have). The tribunal found him guilty and gave him a 7 game suspension, which most footy fans (Staker's parents aside) would see as being a fair & reasonable outcome.

 

[Russian]

You can plead guilty to one offence and one set of classifications. If the tribunal agrees with all of that, you get the discount.

Basically it means if the tribunal determines that the MRP ____ed up the grading, the player isn't penalised

 

[goodie23]

The tribunal doesn't work, period

 

[Chase the Ace]

The tribunal "may" offer a discount.
The discount can be anything up to one-third off, but can also be nothing.
It is totally at their discrention