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ST JOSEPH'S assistant coach Brett Jackman admits his seven-match ban for making contact with an umpire does not sit well on his otherwise impeccable tribunal record.
Jackman had his 10-match suspension reduced to seven at the AFL Victoria appeals hearing at Visy Park on Wednesday night.
His only other suspension in a career spanning more than 200 games was when he accepted a set one-match ban in late 2011.
``I'm obviously bitterly disappointed,'' Jackman said.
``I love playing footy and that's gone now for the rest of the year.
I've got to wait until next year to get going again.
``It's disappointing, you gear up to play a full season and now I can't, but that's what happens.''
Jackman pleaded not guilty at the initial hearing last week, but changed his plea to guilty at Wednesday night's appeal.
He maintains he only touched umpire James Milligan to get his attention after a free kick was paid against him in the match against St Albans in Round 11.
There was no vision of the incident, which Jackman believes counted against him.
Umpire Milligan, when giving evidence at the initial hearing, rated the force of the contact a five out of 10.
``You're not allowed to touch any umpires and I would never condone touching an umpire,'' Jackman said.
``You do the crime, you do the time, but I wasn't expecting the penalty to be that severe.
``I feel I'm a fair player and that I respect all officials and respect everything about the game, but I suppose this action was seen differently by others to what I thought I did.
``I'm in disbelief at the moment, but I've got to deal with it and that's fine.''
Wednesday night's appeal hearing went for about 90 minutes.
The reduction means he will be free to play Round 1 next year.
