Patrick Cripps has won the appeal of his suspension and is free to play in Round 22 against Melbourne.
The Carlton captain was originally handed a two-game ban by Match Review Officer Michael Christian on Monday night for a bump on Lion Callum Ah Chee, with that decision upheld by the tribunal on Tuesday night.
The Blues took the decision to the AFL's appeals board on Thursday night in a last-ditch effort to get Cripps a part of their finals push, and in a surprise decision the bid was successful following a process that went for well over four hours.
Carlton, represented by Christopher Townshend QC, argued the tribunal diverted from the correct interpretation of the phrase ‘in the bumping of an opponent’.
The Blues also argued there was a “denial of natural justice” due to the conduct of proceedings at the tribunal, suggesting there was an error of law and fact.
Townshend took just shy of two hours before concluding his statements, handing the floor over to Nicholas Pane as the AFL's QC.
He then argued there was no denial of justice as the appeal became centred around what constitutes a bumping action.
He also stated a player could have eyes on the ball and still be in the action of bumping an opponent, something Townshend disputed.
Following almost three hours of submissions and more than 90 minutes of deliberations, the appeals board cleared Cripps' charge and deemed him free to play for the remainder of the home and away season.
The appeals board found the findings of the tribunal jury were unreasonable due to a failure to afford procedural fairness which resulted in an error of law.
Carlton plays Melbourne and Collingwood in the final two rounds of the AFL season and needs to win one to guarantee a finals spot, meaning the Cripps decision could have a huge impact on the club's finals chances.