Ben Stratton sent straight to tribunal for pinching Orazio Fantasia and stomping on Shaun McKernan
Ben Stratton has been sent straight to the tribunal for two separate incidents during the loss to Essendon. And Hawthorn says it’s spoken to its captain who has “let the club down”.
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Hawthorn says captain Ben Stratton has let himself and the club down after pinching and stomping on Essendon players during Friday night’s loss.
Stratton has been sent directly to the tribunal and is facing multiple weeks of suspension for two separate incidents — repeatedly pinching Orazio Fantasia and stomping on the foot of Shaun McKernan.
Stratton on Saturday apologised for his actions amid calls for him to be stripped of his leadership position.
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It was a dirty night at Marvel Stadium for the defender, who can also accept a $1000 fine with an early guilty plea for a third charge — making an obscene gesture towards the crowd in the second quarter.
On Sunday, Hawks chief Justin Reeves said his club expected more from its captain.
“Ben is a very respected figure at our football club, but his actions on Friday night let himself and the club down,” said Reeves.
“His behaviour was certainly not reflective of how Hawthorn play and as our captain we expect more from him.
“We have spoken with Ben following the game and he is incredibly remorseful. We will work with Ben to ensure that this sort of behaviour is not repeated.
“This is not the sort of thing he or we want to be known for and he understands the need to adjust his behaviour moving forward.”
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The tribunal will likely suspend Stratton for both acts, meaning he will miss games against fellow finals contenders Sydneyand West Coast.
The MRO could have fined Stratton for his actions but while there was video evidence of four pinches the bruising on Fantasia proved he had been pinched up to a dozen times.
Instead of fining him $1200 for each of those pinches it made the quick decision to refer him, which also made clear the action is unacceptable.
Stratton said his actions were “probably not a great look for the game”.
“Sitting back, it’s not something I want to be known for,” Stratton said of the pinching.
“As captain I’ve got to be better and setting an example for not only the Hawthorn club but also any kids out there.”
In an ABC radio interview before the findings were handed down on Saturday, AFL Commission chairman Richard Goyder described Stratton’s behaviour as a “bad look” and said it needed to be “dealt with properly”.
“You don’t want to see it in under 10s, you don’t want to see it anywhere,” Goyder said.
Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett was tight-lipped last night, refusing to comment on the situation until after the tribunal hearing takes place.
“I’ll let the process take its course,” Kennett told the Herald Sun.
Port Adelaide premiership player Kane Cornes has called on Hawthorn to consider stripping the premiership player of the captaincy for a week after the “cowardly” act.
“Every year the send-off rule debate pops up,” Cornes said on SEN.
“This incident … merits (why) there should be a send-off rule.
“Pinching a defenceless opponent, and it wasn’t just one pinch, it was repeated pinching. You can see on his arm there are seven or eight bruisers that have been left there.
“Let’s say it was 15 times that he got pinched last night, the goal umpire was aware of it. I saw Fantasia making the goal umpire aware of it. Why that wasn’t relayed to the field umpire … is staggering but a fine for this doesn’t cut it. It was one of the most cowardly things I’ve seen all year.
“This is every bit worth a week suspension. Even further … if Hawthorn are serious, is there a club sanction that needs to be handed down if the AFL don’t act on this? A week or stripping him of the captaincy for a week is about right for this.”
Fantasia took the issue up with umpires at quarter-time, before bruises began showing up on the back of his arm in the second half.
“I’ve got a couple of bruises on the arm. He loves to pinch. He’s a good defender. To come back to play on him, I knew it was a tough night,” Fantasia told Channel 7 after the match.
“He has all the tricks in the book. He’s done it every time I play on him. It’s a tough one.”
However, not all Bombers were prepared to brush the action off.
Essendon veteran Cale Hooker took a swipe at Stratton after the game.
“It comes as a surprise, usually the good players don’t have to get involve
d in that stuff and Ben Stratton is a pretty good player,” Hooker told 3AW.
Essendon coach John Worsfold said Stratton would be punished if his actions were deemed unacceptable.
“There are rules in place I think around the game. Things that happen within the rules are outside the rules. I assume it will take care of itself,” Worsfold said.
“I haven’t seen what it looked like. I really can’t comment.”
Former St Kilda and North Melbourne midfielder Nick Dal Santo said Fantasia would have been entitled to retaliate to the pinching.
“I immediately felt for Orazio. He’s facing the football as the forward, the defender is standing back shoulder, being Stratton,” he said on Fox Footy.
“You can’t turn away from the passage of play and what is his only chance to retaliate? Pinch him back? Then we have got two players facing each other, nowhere near the play, pinching each other.
“I would have felt if he could retaliated, it should have been wiped. It should have been a free shot. If someone is going to do that to you as a defender, free shot back.”
Geelong great Jimmy Bartel said the incident was a bad look for a captain.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it went to the tribunal but that’s for one pinch.
“It’s a bad look from the captain of a football club.
“I think it is best to send it to the tribunal.
“Everyone wants some answers.
“Smart decision and the easiest decision would be to get him down to the tribunal.”
Under 2019 AFL Tribunal guidelines, pinching comes under the ‘Fixed Financial Offences’ section, which are listed as “reportable offences which attract a fixed financial sanction only”.
A first offence can attract a $1500 fine or $1000 with an early guilty plea.
A second offence can lead to a $2500 fine and a third offence $4000.
“I don’t think this is a good look for Ben Stratton,” former Western Bulldogs ruckman Luke Darcy said on Triple M.
“As a captain of your club, I don’t think you want to be a pincher.”
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said he did not want to comment on the incident until he had seen it and spoken with Stratton.
Stratton’s tactics against Fantasia came just two weeks after he was scrutinised for niggling of Brisbane small forward Charlie Cameron.
On that occasion, the Hawks skipper was captured throwing little jabs to Cameron’s back and arms.
Former Hawthorn teammate Jordan Lewis said the treatment of Cameron was “not within the spirit of the game but it’s within the rules of the game, so that’s the thing that you can’t really police”.
Free kick? https://t.co/S8hhtUEjgh
— Charles Cameron (@Charles__23) June 14, 2019
North Melbourne great David King said the umpires should have acted sooner.
“It was pointed out at quarter-time, so they’ve had time enough to assess it … and they (the umpires) still haven’t acted on it,” he told Fox Footy.
“They’re asking for trouble … what, are we waiting for Fantasia to respond?
“You’ve got a chance to knock this on the head straight away.”
Niggle is fine but I think pinching is crossing the line!
— Lindsay Gilbee (@LindsayGilbee) June 14, 2019
Former Fremantle tagger Ryan Crowley was fined $1200 for pinching North Melbourne’s Brent Harvey in 2013 under a misconduct charge.
Harvey claimed at the tribunal hearing the pinching “didn’t happen once, it happened 300 times”.
The pinch heard around the world ... https://t.co/tT6GCzYFTq
— Mark Robinson (@Robbo_heraldsun) June 14, 2019
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Originally published as Ben Stratton sent straight to tribunal for pinching Orazio Fantasia and stomping on Shaun McKernan
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