Xerri Suspended for Blood-Wiping Incident

Tristan Xerri smears blood from his nose across Andrew McGrath's face during the scuffle | GETTY IMAGES

Tristan Xerri gets 3-match ban for wiping blood on Andy McGrath's face in AFL match.

AFL Tribunal bans Xerri for 'disgraceful' act...

Xerri's been handed a three-match suspension after he wiped blood from his nose on an opponent's face. He was sent straight to the tribunal on Monday and the incident, involving Essendon captain Andy McGrath, was labelled “disgraceful behaviour.”

The North Melbourne player was charged with serious misconduct over the incident that happened on Saturday.

Xerri got a bloody nose in a clash with McGrath before kicking a goal, then things escalated. He wiped some of the blood onto McGrath's face, narrowly missing his mouth.

At the tribunal hearing, Xerri said he lost his cool after McGrath called him “a weak c-word” post-goal. “I completely owned my mistake,” Xerri admitted, accepting the charge.

“It's not right what I did. I'm sorry and sincerely apologise for that,” he said.

“It was just a lapse in judgement. There's no excuses, mate. It's a poor look. I had a brain fade.”

The incident sparked widespread outrage, with AFL CEO Andrew Dillon saying it was “something that we don't want to see.”

The tribunal considered two similar past cases (2002 and 2012) involving blood being wiped on clothing, but Xerri's face-targeting incident was deemed worse. North Melbourne argued for a two-match ban, but the tribunal handed down three matches.

"We know how to have a bizarre Tribunal case..."

Kangaroos coach Alastair Clarkson reacts to Tristan Xerri's three-game ban for serious misconduct. #AFL360 pic.twitter.com/lwxfM5Jq5F

— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) March 30, 2026

“The intentional act of wiping blood from your nose onto the face of another player is disgraceful behaviour,” it said.

“Xerri's hand was quite close to McGrath's open mouth in circumstances where numerous players were pushing and shoving, where the blood could quite easily have made contact with McGrath's mouth.

“The appearance or the look of the act is quite shocking.”

The AFL condemned Xerri's actions strongly, and it's still unclear if they'll appeal the three-match ban.