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The AFL has apologised to Sydney superstar Lance Franklin for accusations levelled at him by the league's lawyer during a tribunal hearing on Wednesday.
- Lance Franklin was suspended for one game for striking Richmond's Trent Cotchin
- AFL counsel said Franklin's actions were "brazen" and "cowardly"
- An AFL statement said: "There are no cowardly players in the AFL, let alone Lance Franklin."
Franklin failed to overturn his one-game ban for striking three-time Tigers premiership captain Trent Cotchin and will miss the Swans' round-12 AFL clash with Melbourne.
But the verdict was not the story from the hearing, with AFL counsel Andrew Woods describing Franklin's actions as "cowardly" and "brazen".
Meanwhile, the Swans' lawyer suggested "Cotchin might get an invite to the Logies instead of the Brownlow this year" for exaggerating the impact from the Franklin strike.
LoadingA statement from AFL House said the league had apologised to Franklin and the Swans "and reiterated our respect for Lance and his standing in the game" as "a champion of our game".
"There are no cowardly players in the AFL, let alone Lance Franklin," the statement read.
"In the making of submissions, legal counsel assisting the tribunal used his own words to describe the circumstances of the strike on Trent Cotchin, namely that Mr Cotchin was reasonably not expecting to be struck by Mr Franklin.
"Trent Cotchin is a premiership captain and one of the most respected leaders in the competition.
"It is the AFL's view that rhetorical flourishes of the nature used by both counsel last night should not be part of the AFL tribunal process and they do not reflect the views of the AFL."
After both sides made their arguments, the tribunal jury upheld the striking charge against Franklin, which was graded by the AFL's match review officer as intentional, low impact and high contact.
After this weekend's clash with the Demons, the Swans have the bye in round 13, so Franklin will not be able to play again until a game against Port Adelaide on June 18.
ABC/AAP