Tribunal chairman Wayne Taylor handed down a four-match penalty to the former Brownlow medallist, but suspended three of the games for a period of 12 months following the history-making case.

Akermanis fronted the tribunal on a breach of the cyber safety policy after the matter was the subject of a probe carried out by investigator Enzo Bevacqua, who asked the panel to consider “sending a message” when asking for a submission on the penalty.

Taylor said Akermanis’ good record and the case receiving widespread attention in the media were factors in determining the penalty.

Akermanis said during the hearing there had been a breakdown in communication between himself and umpire boss Mark Bywater as the season wore on.

Bywater’s employer, AFL North-East Border Commission, lodged the complaint about Akermanis.

The former Brisbane Lions star sent Bywater five videos, which were littered with obscenities about what he thought were umpiring mistakes, following the Wangaratta game in round 15 and were followed up with two even more abusive videos two weeks later.

In another video after a round 17 match, Akermanis said: “What the f--- are (Bywater) doing about it? It is bullshit.”

Akermanis complained of continual “f--- ups” by umpires and at one stage called one of the officiating umpires a “retard”.

“If he has taken offence it is his choice,” Akermanis said.

“This is a player safety issue and it is concerning to me.

“It is the single reason I stopped playing.”

Following the first batch of videos, Bywater’s boss John O’Donohue contacted North Albury president Mark Cronin and showed him the videos.

Cronin asked Akermanis to stop sending the videos, but regretted not saying it in a forceful manner to prevent in re-occuring.

“On reflection I would have been more forceful in talking to Jason,” he said.

“It is not language I would use, but I am not Jason Akermanis.”

Akermanis’ wife Megan was called as a witness and said there was no intention to cause any harm and the comments were part of the footy community.

“I watched from the sidelines and seen my husband get punched in the head and there were no consequences,” she said.

“I could see where he was coming from.

“This is my husband’s career we are talking about.”

Bywater said he didn’t feel comfortable speaking to Akermanis following the Wangaratta match.

“I didn’t feel comfortable approaching Jason,” he said.

“The relationship had broken down.

“It certainly made me question why I wanted to stay in the role.”