North Warrnambool Eagles star Ty Vickery is free to play when Melbourne's coronavirus restrictions are eased after an independent tribunal found him not guilty due to inconclusive evidence.
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The former AFL utility pleaded not guilty for carelessly striking Cobden's Zac Green in an incident in the first quarter of the Hampden league round 10 match between the two sides at Bushfield Oval on Saturday, July 7.
Vickery, who is based in Melbourne, is unable to play at the moment due to the state capital's coronavirus lockdown being extended for another week.
He will miss the game against Warrnambool at Dennington this weekend and possibly the final round match against Camperdown next weekend due to the restrictions.
The independent tribunal heard evidence from Green, Vickery, North Warrnambool Eagles forward Jarryd Lewis and Cobden pair Noah Mounsey and Sam Darcy in an hour-and-a-half long hearing on Thursday night.
Green said he was hit as he wrestled with Lewis, who remonstrated after the Bomber pushed Vickery in the stomach following an Eagles' goal. He said he was unsure where the punch originated from.
The defender said he left the ground with a cut above his right eye. He said he played out the rest of the game with it bandaged up and later received 15 stitches at Port Fairy Urgent Care.
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No one remonstrated with Vickery after the incident and play continued.
Vickery told the panel he tried to pull Green off Lewis as they wrestled on the ground. He said Green had his hands near Lewis' face during the scuffle.
The former Hawthorn and Richmond player said he tried to lift Green away by putting his arm under the Bomber's chest but said he did it in a clumsy matter because he slipped.
He said he didn't strike Green but that his intention was to pull him away from Lewis.
Mounsey and Darcy, who were both 20 metres away from the incident, said they saw Vickery "uppercut" Green as he and Lewis wrestled on the ground.
After deliberating the three-man panel gave Vickey not guilty as they felt there was an incident but that the evidence provided was inconclusive.
Player advocates Gerard Lourey (North Warrnambool Eagles) and Bill Saunders (Cobden) both said in their summaries the evidence provided was like "he said, she said".
The panel agreed the evidence provided was as the two advocates described.
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