The tribunal distributed its written judgement just after 2:30pm AEST on Wednesday, almost 24 hours after Butters’s hearing began.<\/p>\n
The tribunal sided with field umpire Nick Foot, who alleged Butters said “How much are they paying you?” after he awarded a free kick to St Kilda in Port’s 14-point loss on Sunday night.<\/p>\n
Butters vehemently denied that comment, insisting he said: “Surely that’s not a free kick.”<\/p>\n
![\"Zak](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/e91877ea85fb3bb87dfdbb0258004c1e.jpeg\")
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Zak Butters is adamant he did not say what he is alleged to have said. (ABC News: Briana Fiore)<\/p>\n
AFLPA chief executive James Gallagher said the organisation was “deeply disappointed” by the tribunal outcome.<\/p>\n
“A misunderstanding about what was said on field should have been resolved in the aftermath of the match, not referred to the tribunal,” Gallagher said in a statement.<\/p>\n
“The tribunal determining not to accept all of the evidence consistent with Zak’s version of events \u2026 nor have sufficient doubt when upholding a charge is deeply concerning.”<\/p>\n
Complicating the matter was the fact the entire verbal exchange was not picked up by umpire Foot’s microphone \u2014 though some comments before and after were.<\/p>\n
“There are many possible reasons for that, including the positioning of players to the microphone,” the tribunal said in its written judgement.<\/p>\n
The tribunal was “satisfied to the requisite standard” that Butters made the offending comment.<\/p>\n
“It is implausible that Mr Foot would invent the offending comment and it was not put to him that he had done so,” the judgement said.<\/p>\n
“It was put to him that there were several distractions and that he had misheard what Mr Butters said. We also consider that to be implausible.”<\/p>\n
The flashpoint came when Foot paid a free kick to St Kilda’s Mitch Owens, prompting Port’s Ollie Wines and Butters to protest.<\/p>\n
Butters was penalised 50m and reported for abusive language by Foot.<\/p>\n
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The AFL Tribunal says it is “implausible” that umpire Nick Foot had invented the comment. (7 Sport)<\/p>\n
“The comment that Butters made to me was, ‘How much are they paying you?'” Foot told the tribunal.<\/p>\n
Foot interpreted “they” as being “the St Kilda Football Club or someone involved with St Kilda”.<\/p>\n
“It questioned my integrity,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I’m 100 per cent adamant that those are the words Zak Butters said to me.”<\/p>\n