The Project's Waleed Aly has publicly defended himself in the wake of an onslaught of criticism he received following a two-game suspension handed down to Richmond player Bachar Houli.
It comes after the AFL announced it will head into Thursday night's unprecedented Appeals Board hearing to argue the two-week suspension handed to Houli was manifestly inadequate.
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Waleed Aly defends role in Houli tribunal row
Onslaught of criticism forces The Project host to explain why he got involved in an AFL disciplinary hearing for embattled Richmond midfielder Bachar Houli.
AFL counsel will argue the sanction handed down by the tribunal on Tuesday night was essentially half of the base penalty, given that he was found guilty of intentionally striking Carlton's Jed Lamb and making high contact with high impact.
Lamb was knocked out by the strike to the head and did not take any further part in Sunday's game.
He will miss this week's game and Carlton expect he is likely to miss a second match as well.
The Project host and Gold Logie winner revealed he was asked to provide a character reference from Houli's legal team on Monday evening.
Media advocate Waleed Aly, Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull , AFL diversity manager Ali Fahour and former Port Adelaide premiership coach and Richmond assistant coach Mark Williams all provided character evidence.
Houli was given a discounted sentence by the tribunal on Tuesday on the basis of his impeccable character and clean record.
![The Project's Waleed Aly spoken out about criticism he received following a two-game suspension handed down to Richmond ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630090658im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/q/7/2/7/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gx0rq2.png/1498740837863.jpg)
It is the first time in history that the AFL has appealed against a tribunal decision.
The suspension was deemed inadequate by many and the involvement of Aly and Turnbull has been condemned.
![Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull chats with Bachar Houli.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630090658im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/0/5/t/p/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gx0rq2.png/1498740837863.jpg)
However, Aly, an avid Richmond Tigers supporter, took to The Project to explain his decision after his co-host Peter Hellier sent an email to the show questioning his involvement in the process.
A well-known Collingwood supporter, Hellier, who is on currently on leave, argued character testimony should not be used to decide how guilty players are of an on-field act.
However, Aly said he felt the controversy surrounding the suspension was more about the tribunal's decision rather than his role in providing a good character reference for Houli.
"This is not an uncommon thing," Aly said. "You do get character references in courts all the time. That is a really common thing. The tribunals are based on a court. These are the rules that they have had in place."
"They have used them before I think in tribunal settings. It is not like this was something that was dreamt up by Richmond or by the lawyers or anything like that. It is a standard procedure."
"So, if they are trying to figure out whether the person involved intended to hurt somebody or whatever, then it is relevant to that or it can be relevant to that that a court figures out is this the kind of person who is likely to have intended to do something like that?"
The league believes strong character evidence should only mean the penalty does not move to be greater than four matches, not that it could be cut below that minimum threshold.
With Michael Gleeson and Sam McClure