Port Adelaide star Zak Butters' period in an unwanted spotlight will reach a head when his case is heard by the AFL appeal board.
Butters was fined $1500 by the AFL tribunal last Tuesday for abusing field umpire Nick Foot during the Power's loss to St Kilda in round five.
His appeal hearing is set for Monday.
Foot told the tribunal Butters asked him: "How much are they paying you?'' after awarding the Saints a free kick.
Butters vehemently denied making that comment, but the tribunal sided with the umpire, who reported Port's triple club champion at the time of the incident.
The Power believe Butters has been branded a liar by the tribunal, which found it was "implausible that Mr Foot would invent the offending comment".
The decision sparked furious debate, with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell labelling the case a "debacle".
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan echoed Essendon's Brad Scott in querying how the tribunal reached its verdict.
And St Kilda coach Ross Lyon raised concerns about the stress players are put under through the tribunal process.
The ongoing saga has not adversely affected Butters' form, with the red-hot midfielder lifting the Power to within a kick of upsetting Hawthorn in round six.
Butters was best afield in Saturday's three-point defeat, racking up 35 possessions.
"As a football club, we're super-proud of him," Port coach Josh Carr said.
"It's obviously been a huge week for him, and then to come out and play the footy he did ... him being out on the field allows him to move on and do his best work."
St Kilda forward Lance Collard will also take a case to the AFL appeal board, contesting his seven-week suspension after being found guilty of directing a homophobic slur at an opponent for the second time.
Meanwhile, Gold Coast will head to the tribunal to challenge defender John Noble's one-match ban for rough conduct against Essendon's Tom Edwards.
The Suns are hopeful Noble will play against Hawthorn in Launceston on Anzac Day, when their opponents will be without suspended pair James Sicily and Dylan Moore.
The Hawks have accepted respective one-match bans for separate gut punches by Sicily and Moore to Port Adelaide's Logan Evans.
The AFL has cracked down on off-the-ball hits to the body this season, and the Hawks would have been unlikely to have their players' bans overturned.
