Hawthorn captain James Sicily has failed in his bid to overturn a three-match ban for the dangerous tackle that led to Brisbane Lions midfielder Hugh McCluggage's concussion.
Sicily was suspended by the tribunal last week after the match review officer graded the round-13 incident as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact.
At an appeal board hearing on Monday night, Hawks legal representative Will Houghton argued there were "several errors of law" and a lack of procedural fairness in the tribunal's findings.
Houghton argued the tribunal did not ask itself whether Sicily's conduct was negligent or reckless, or whether it was unreasonable in the circumstances.
Houghton also claimed evidence provided by the biomechanist the Hawks called on at the tribunal hearing was ignored.
"It was unreasonable for these matters to be overlooked," Houghton said.
AFL legal representative Lisa Hannon argued the tribunal took into account all of those factors when making its decision.
And while the tribunal panel didn't fully explain the reasons for its decision, Hannon said there was "no relevant material error of law" in the process.
"The tribunal, comprised of experienced players, was well positioned to form its own view as to whether Sicily could've done anything differently," Hannon said.
The appeal board found no error of law in the tribunal's process and dismissed the appeal, concluding a hearing that lasted more than three hours.
"We accept that this is a difficult case and of course we accept, as submitted by counsel for the AFL, that reasonable minds may differ in such circumstances," appeal board chair Murray Kellam said.
"However, having regards to the evidence available and in particular the video evidence ... we're unable to come to the conclusion that the tribunal came to a decision that was so unreasonable that no tribunal could have come to such a decision."
Sicily will miss Hawthorn's matches against Gold Coast, Carlton and GWS.
Also on Monday, Carlton forward Matthew Cottrell was handed a one-match suspension for his dangerous tackle on Gold Coast's Ben Long.
The incident, which occurred during the last quarter of the Blues' big win on Sunday, was graded as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact.
Carlton have until Tuesday to decide whether to take the case to the tribunal.
GWS accepted Lachie Whitfield's one-match for a dangerous tackle on Fremantle's Jordan Clark.
Whitfield will miss the Giants' clash with Melbourne after their bye.
