Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield has been hit with a one-match suspension for his controversial dangerous tackle on Carlton’s Sam Walsh.

Debate erupted after the veteran tackled Walsh from behind in the opening seconds of the Cats’ loss to the Blues on Friday night, with Walsh falling forwards and hitting his head on the ground, winning a free kick as a result.

The incident led to widespread debate around the footy world, with many claiming Dangerfield would face the wrath of Match Review Officer Michael Christian, while others believed Walsh contributed to his head hitting the ground with his move forwards.

Christian, though, ruled Dangerfield had neglected his duty of care towards the star Blue, grading the incident as careless conduct with medium impact and high contact to trigger a one-match ban.

It seems likely, though, that the Cats will take the incident to the AFL Tribunal and argue that Dangerfield attempted to hold Walsh up in the tackle rather than driving him forward.

The ban comes despite Cats coach Chris Scott saying after the match that he expected Dangerfield to be cleared.

“The way holding the ball is being interpreted at the moment, if you have hold of an arm, you’re very likely to get a free kick for holding the ball,” he said.

“And Pat didn’t sling him, he had hold of an arm, and with that sort of momentum you’re both going into the ground. So that’s the way I saw it, but they don’t listen to me.”

Dangerfield has been suspended twice before in his glittering 326-game career; once for a dangerous tackle that concussed former Blue Matthew Kreuzer back in 2017 which saw him ruled ineligible for the Brownlow Medal, and then again in 2021 for a high bump that knocked out then-Adelaide and now Essendon defender Jake Kelly.