Johnson fails to beat striking charge
29 August 2006
Herald-Sun
AAP
ESSENDON'S Mark Johnson tonight failed to beat a striking charge at the AFL tribunal, despite favourable evidence from an umpire and Richmond opponent Kayne Pettifer.
Johnson was found guilty of striking Pettifer to the body in Saturday night's match at the MCG.
The low level classification of the offence and a reduction for a previously clean record meant Johnson still avoided suspension, being handed only a reprimand.
Johnson claimed he swung his arm to try to stop Pettifer from holding his jumper, but missed the Richmond player completely.
Pettifer dropped to the ground, holding his stomach.
"You could see I started laughing afterwards because I didn't really touch him," Johnson told the jury.
Pettifer gave evidence backing Johnson's account, saying he went to ground to try to milk a free kick, as Johnson had acted to get a free kick shortly beforehand.
Officiating umpire Matthew Head, who did not see the incident, said Pettifer told him the same thing on the night.
"Kayne Pettifer said to me `Don't worry, I just acted, just as Mark Johnson acted,'" Head said.
But the tribunal was not swayed, hitting Johnson with the reprimand and 93.75 demerit points, which means that even a minor future offence is likely to push him over the 100-point mark required for a suspension.
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