Tristan xerri banned three games for wiping blood on andrew mcgrath's face

AFL tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson KC has handed down a three-game suspension to North Melbourne's Tristan Xerri for his 'disgraceful' act of wiping blood on Essendon captain Andrew McGrath's face during their clash on Saturday night.

Xerri's apology and remorse key to lighter penalty

Xerri pleaded guilty to the serious misconduct charge and his early plea, combined with his 'impressive, candid and remorseful' evidence, may have prevented a harsher sanction.

The tribunal noted that if Xerri hadn't shown remorse, he could have faced a ban longer than three weeks. The North Melbourne ruckman admitted that there had been blood on his hand, which wasn't clear from the video footage.

Xerri will now miss North Melbourne's next three games against Carlton, Brisbane and Richmond. He was referred directly to the tribunal and claimed the incident was a 'brain fade'.