Port Adelaide midfielder Sam Powell-Pepper continues to remain on outer as club and AFL argue on nightclub case

PORT Adelaide midfielder Sam Powell-Pepper is staying on the sidelines as his nightclub saga remains locked in a bitter debate between the AFL and Power

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PORT Adelaide midfielder Sam Powell-Pepper’s fight to clear his name of serious allegations against his off-field behaviour will cost him three AFL games - just as the league’s integrity unit wanted.

As the Power and AFL remain in dispute on how to close the disputed case from an Adelaide nightclub on April 8, Port Adelaide has opted not to inflame the saga by playing Powell-Pepper in the SANFL on Wednesday in the Magpies’ grand final rematch with Sturt at Unley Oval.

Such a move also could backfire by extending a penalty if an AFL tribunal found Powell-Pepper guilty of breaching the league’s code of conduct.

The 20-year-old midfielder also will stand out of Saturday’s AFL away clash with North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne.

This means Powell-Pepper will have missed AFL games against Essendon (by a club-imposed ban for breaching team rules on a 2am curfew and public drinking); against Geelong at the weekend and North Melbourne.

But still in doubt is how the case - launched by a 20-year-old university student complaining about Powell-Pepper’s behaviour at a city nightclub on April 8 - ends.

The AFL can - as wanted by the Power - declare there is no evidence to support a charge against Powell-Pepper.

Or the league can charge, as the integrity unit recommended, Powell-Pepper with “inappropriate behaviour”. This would trigger the Power ordering a grievance tribunal hearing to defend the West Australian. Club president David Koch has put the AFL on notice that it has QCs’ advice to support a not guilty plea from Powell-Pepper.

If Powell-Pepper played against Sturt in the SANFL on Wednesday - while AFL round five is still incomplete - the league grievance committee would rule he has forfeited the Geelong match against any eventual penalty.

A compromise - with Powell-Pepper issuing an apology with no penalty, as Richmond midfielder Dustin Martin did in December 2015 with the “chopsticks incident” involving a female diner at a Melbourne restaurant - has been ruled out by the Power. The club argues the four-hour video evidence from the Adelaide nightclub leaves Powell-Pepper with no reason to apologise for his behaviour.

The Power also is concerned how a compromised apology in relation to behaviour towards women would scar Powell-Pepper’s reputation beyond his football career.

AFL football boss Steve Hocking tonight on Adelaide radio FIVEaa declared “reaching the right outcome” was more important than counting the 15 days the Powell-Pepper saga has consumed.

The issue, however, is not expected to end with an AFL ruling. Port Adelaide is primed to take legal action against one television network for its reporting of the event.

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