AFL Daily: Ben Stratton expresses remorse after he was banned for pinching and stomping

Hawthorn captain Ben Stratton admits his repeated pinching of Essendon opponent Orazio Fantasia was not a good look for the game after he was suspended for the act at the AFL Tribunal in addition to a separate ban for stomping.

Cyril Rioli and Jeff Kennett.

Hawthorn captain Ben Stratton says he never meant to hurt his opponents after being suspended for two weeks over two separate charges he faced at the AFL Tribunal.

Stratton faced a charge of serious misconduct for repeatedly pinching Essendon opponent Orazio Fantasia last Friday night, which he pleaded guilty to and landed him a one-week ban.

He also faced a separate charge of stomping the foot of Essendon’s Shaun McKernan in the same match, for which he also pleaded guilty and resulted in a one-week suspension.

Stratton sat solemnly and largely motionless in the back of the room watching proceedings alongside Hawthorn football boss Graham Wright and did not address the tribunal directly at any stage.

However, he spoke after the hearing in a brief statement to media, saying he accepted the verdicts.

“As captain of the footy club and player of the AFL I understand this is not a good look for the game, especially kids watching from home,” Stratton said.

“(I’m) extremely remorseful for my actions. I never meant to go out there and hurt my opponent. I just want to play in the hardest manner possible. So I accept the two weeks that the tribunal’s come up with.”

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Stratton’s player advocate Peter O’Farrell told the hearing his client had reached out to Fantasia after the game and had displayed remorse, including publicly in a video released on Saturday afternoon.

O’Farrell said Stratton had played 180 AFL games and had never before been suspended and the reaction over the weekend to his pinching of Fantasia had “crystalised the responsibilities that go with being an AFL captain”.

Stratton’s team made reference to Fremantle’s Ryan Crowley being fined $1200 for pinching North Melbourne opponent Brent Harvey in 2013, however tribunal chairman David Jones noted Crowley’s was a charge of misconduct rather than serious misconduct which had been levelled against Stratton.

Ben Stratton speaks to the media after he was banned by the AFL Tribunal. Picture:: Getty Images

AFL Legal Counsel Jeff Gleeson QC argued Stratton’s pinching of Fantasia was “deliberate”, “calculated” and “considered” in calling for a one-week suspension for the charge.

“They were unacceptable acts and they were unsportsman-like acts," Gleeson said.

“They did have not only the potential but the effect of causing harm to the game. The focus on this when it is captured is unsatisfactory and it’s something that the game can do without.”

On the stomping charge, O’Farrell said Stratton had reacted to having his own foot stepped on in a “school yard tit-for-tat” and McKernan’s clean medical report reflected the “low-level nature” of the stomp.

However, Gleeson argued that the action had “the potential to cause serious injury” and it was a “matter of good fortune not good management” that McKernan had not been seriously injured. 

Stratton’s team argued fines should be imposed both charges, but the tribunal took just 10 minutes to decide on its verdicts for both cases and opted to impose one-week suspensions for each.

Hawthorn faces a Round 14 clash with Sydney at the SCG on Friday night.

Originally published as AFL Daily: Ben Stratton expresses remorse after he was banned for pinching and stomping

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