Essendon midfielder Dylan Shiel has been sent directly to the tribunal for his dangerous shove on Geelong's Mark O'Connor, which caused a scary in-air collision involving teammate Luamon Lual.
The length of the suspension will be up to the discretion of the tribunal, though the AFL is pushing for a one-match ban.
The incident, which took place in the late stages of the second quarter, saw Shiel shove Geelong utility Mark O'Connor under the flight of the Sherrin and into the path of the leaping Lual, causing Lual to flip mid-air and land on his neck.
Lual would eventually be subbed from the game, though no medical reason was provided.
The MRO provided an explanation of their decision in its release on Saturday night regarding the unusual incident.
"The incident involving Essendon's Dylan Shiel's push on Geelong's Mark O'Connor was assessed as rough conduct by the MRO and has been referred directly to the tribunal without being graded," The Match Review Officer wrote.
"If the charge is upheld by the tribunal, while the tribunal will determine the sanction in their sole discretion, the AFL's view is that a suspension of one match is the appropriate penalty having regard to both the impact to O'Connor and the significant potential that Shiel's teammate, Luamon Lual, could have suffered a serious head or neck injury arising from Shiel's unreasonable conduct, which caused Lual's head and neck to make contact with the ground with force.
"In this respect, the Laws of Australian Football state that a player owes a duty of care to all other players, not just their opponents."
The MRO found one other reportable offence in Friday night's match, charging Irish Cat Oisin Mullin with striking Zach Merrett during the fourth quarter. As it is his first offence, Mullin can accept a $1000 fine with an early plea.
