Debate is set to rage after Melbourne defender Steven May was handed a three-match ban for his devastating collision with an opponent that has divided the football world.
May was found guilty of rough conduct at the AFL tribunal on Wednesday night for the collision that concussed Francis Evans and left the Carlton forward with a broken nose and a chipped tooth.
A biomechanics expert calculated May had only 0.56 seconds from the ball’s final bounce until the moment of the collision, and that the premiership defender would have needed at least 0.2 to 0.25 seconds to react.
“The time available to him to perceive and react to a complex scenario is not sufficient for him to adapt and avoid contact,” AIS biomechanist Daniel Cottam said in his findings, not all of which could be submitted as evidence for the tribunal hearing.
May argued he had little time to react, saying he was so sure he was going to get to the ball first that he was left shocked when Evans beat him to it during Saturday’s game at the MCG.
But AFL Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson said May had ample time while running towards the ball to realise there was a big chance he wouldn’t arrive there first and to come up with a contingency plan.
“The most he could have hoped was that he would arrive at about the same time as Evans,” Gleeson said. “It was far more likely that he would reach the ball after Evans.
“As he gathered the ball, Evans had time to position his body just slightly so as to turn slightly away from May. This gives some indication that May had sufficient time to make some attempt to move his body in a way that minimised or avoided the impact limits.
“May made no attempt to change his path, his body position or his velocity at any time leading up to or in the contest.”
Before the hearing, Carlton captain Patrick Cripps questioned how May could have approached things differently.
“I felt like both of them were trying to contest the ball,” Cripps told the On the Inside podcast. “You never want to see a player get injured but I don’t understand what we want players to do.
“If that’s a grand final and [May] hesitates and Franky gets the ball, what do you do?”
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The decision to suspend May has set a strong precedent when it comes to players arriving at a loose ball within a split second of each other. He will miss games against St Kilda, West Coast and the Western Bulldogs.
Meanwhile, Sydney defender Riak Andrew was handed a five-match suspension after being found guilty of using a homophobic slur while representing the Swans’ reserves team.
First-year player Andrew, the younger brother of Gold Coast star Mac Andrew, used the slur during the Swans’ VFL clash with North Melbourne on Saturday.
The AFL integrity unit investigated the matter after a North Melbourne player informed an umpire about it during the match.
The investigation found that Andrew used a highly offensive homophobic slur towards a North Melbourne opponent.
“In the course of the investigation, Andrew made full admissions and was remorseful and apologetic,” the AFL said in a statement.
