STEVEN Baker was suspended for two matches at the AFL Tribunal last night, having been found guilty of rough play against Jordan Russell and of striking Marc Murphy in the match against Carlton last Friday night.

The outcome creates a dilemma for the AFL, which will be forced to clarify how the tribunal system of carry-over points for offences is intended to operate. Depending what action the AFL takes, Baker conceivably could have an extra match added to his sentence today.

Baker accrued 177.5 demerit points on each of the two charges. In its media release earlier in the day detailing last night's tribunal hearings, the AFL specifically stated that were Baker to be found guilty of both offences, the points would be cumulative, giving him a total of 355.

As 100 points equates to one game, Baker then would have been suspended for three matches, with 55 points carried over to his future record.

St Kilda football manager Ken Sheldon said Baker faced two matches out regardless. "We are disappointed with the outcome. He still has two matches to serve and has points hanging over his head."

Sheldon was sanguine about the possibility of that becoming three. "I guess what will be, will be," he said, "but at the end of the day, he still has two matches."

It was the first time under the new system that a player has been found guilty of two offences in one game. After hearing both counsel and giving the matter consideration, the tribunal chairman, retired County Court judge David Jones, ruled that the carry-over points from the first offence should not apply to the second one. "It is not appropriate to carry over the points from the first matter to this matter," Jones said, "having regard to the fact that at the time of committing the offence of striking (the second case), he did not have these points."

Jones also said the purpose of carry-over points was to act as a deterrent to players and this could not happen within the same game.

Jones said it would be up to the AFL to clarify the situation.

As it stands now, however, Baker has 155 carry-over points from last night's case, which means he is on an automatic week's suspension for any offence carrying further points.

Fremantle's Dean Solomon saved one match of a potential two-game suspension when the tribunal found him guilty of misconduct but reduced the classification of the offence. Solomon pleaded not guilty to the charge, which involved kneeing Brisbane Lions' Jason Roe in the buttock after the Brisbane player stepped into his path as he ran to pick up his immediate opponent, Jed Adcock.

The jury found that Solomon's actions did constitute misconduct but that they were negligent rather than reckless.

This reduced the grading of the charge sufficiently for the former Essendon hard man to escape with a one-match penalty instead of the two as assessed by the match review panel.

Unlike Solomon, Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell will be free to play when the teams meet at Subiaco this weekend, but his challenge to the charge of negligent conduct in making contact with umpire Stefan Grun failed and he was fined the full amount of $3200 instead of the $2400 he could have taken had he entered an early plea.