Richmond Tigers star Dustin Martin has escaped suspension for his umpire bump on Sunday against Geelong, meaning he remains in Brownlow Medal contention.
Martin was charged with careless contact and can accept a $1500 sanction with an early guilty plea for the incident during the third quarter of his side's 18-point victory against the Cats.
The 26-year-old was attempting to demonstrate to umpire Jacob Mollison what had happened between he and Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield - which resulted in the latter winning a free kick just moments earlier.
It's not the first time Martin has been charged with making contact with an umpire this season after being fined $1000 for careless contact during his side's clash with Collingwood in round six.
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Watch the incident below.
Dustin Martin appeared to make contact with the field umpire in this incident during Richmond's win over Geelong on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/ZFIo7RARqx
— AFL.com.au (@AFLcomau) June 18, 2018
Match Review Officer Michael Christian said he used previous umpire contact incidents throughout the season to come to the decision.
"Taking into account recent Tribunal decisions particularly the incident involving Steven May in round eight, it was decided to charge Dustin under the careless conduct provisions," Christian said.
"I think it's really important to say, because those guidelines around intentional umpire contact are not specific.
"At Match Review level we've decided to interpret those guidelines for intentional umpire contact as being when a player disrespectfully, aggressively, dismissively, or indeed forcefully touches the umpires.
"There's no clear specific guidelines around what constitutes the various aspects of umpire contact."
Both Carlton's Ed Curnow and Charlie Curnow, Geelong's Tom Hawkins and Gold Coast's Steven May have all had incidents referred to the AFL Tribunal in 2018.
Ed Curnow and Hawkins both missed a game for their incidents while May and Charlie Curnow escaped suspension.
The star midfielder is the reigning Brownlow Medalist and is a favourite alongside Tom Mitchell to take out the prize in 2018 after remaining in contention.
With Dusty free to play, it is a huge boost to the Tigers ahead of their clash with Sydney in round 15 after the bye.
Martin has played 190 games for the Tigers and has kicked 204 goals in his career after being taken with pick three in the 2009 National Draft.
The explosive footballer was instrumental in helping Richmond win their first premiership last season since 1980, while he also took out the Norm Smith Medal and earned a second All-Australian birth.
In other findings from the Match Review Officer, Fremantle’s Aaron Sandilands was cleared of any dangerous contact against Carlton's Patrick Cripps.
