Zak Butters is free to play against Brisbane this Saturday after having his one-match ban overturned at the AFL tribunal.
Butters faced the tribunal on Tuesday afternoon to contest the striking charge handed to him following Sunday's game at Engie Stadium.
The striking charge was initially classified as intentional conduct and low impact with high contact, but was dismissed after an hour-long hearing and a brief deliberation.
During the hearing, Butters claimed his hand was open and he was aiming for a push to Tom Green's chest and upper arm area before his fingers slipped upwards and brushed his opponent's face. Butters also said that Green's head movement was a flinch, rather than a result of contact being made with his face.
Acting for Butters, lawyer Ben Krupka said the impact on Green was "negligible" and should not have been labelled "low impact".
Mr Krupka also said the incident was little more than a brush to the side of the face and that Green was not pushed off balance at any point and did not raise his hands to his face as you would expect if the contact was anything more than negligible. He also had no attention from medical staff and played on.
Mr Krupka asked that the vision of Jesse Hogan's dismissed striking charge from Round 6 be considered, stating this example was the closest comparison to Butters’ incident.
Port Adelaide takes on Brisbane from 1:15pm on Saturday at Adelaide Oval.
