Richmond were given a massive pre-finals boost on Tuesday night when the tribunal found their midfield ace not guilty of intentional umpire contact for shoving Essendon's Georgia Nanscawen into the path of an umpire.
Instead, Sheerin pleaded guilty to careless contact and was fined $200 after the tribunal's deliberations took 90 minutes.
Sheerin smiled and rubbed her hands together after the verdict.
Now the AFL will challenge the tribunal verdict, with the hearing expected to be held on Thursday afternoon or evening.
In handing down the verdict, tribunal chair Renee Enbom KC made it clear that Sheerin would have faced a hefty suspension had she been found guilty of the original intentional charge.
Under the tribunal guidelines, Sheerin was referred directly to the tribunal.
"Had we been satisfied ... that Sheerin had engaged in such conduct, then the sanction would have been a significant one, involving far more than a fine," Enbom said.
The unusual incident involved Sheerin pushing Essendon opponent Nanscawen at a stoppage, with less than two minutes left of Saturday night's Dreamtime in Darwin draw.
Eilish Sheerin has been referred directly to the tribunal for intentional contact with an umpire following this incident.— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) Full week nine Match Review findings: https://t.co/GctYXTl6Oa pic.twitter.com/x2UeohVHvjOctober 28, 2024
Nanscawen fell over and the umpire, backing away after the throwing up the ball, then fell over the Essendon onballer.
Enbom said Sheerin's evidence was "unequivocal' that she did not mean to push Nanscawen into the umpire.
She added the tribunal was not satisfied Sheerin had intended for the contact to happen.
"Sheerin's explanation of what occurred is not inconsistent with the vision," Enbom said.
"The push does not appear to involve much force. (Nanscawen) awkwardly falls to ground, which may be partly because she was off-balance ... the umpire moves backwards and the collision occurs."
On Thursday, Nanscawen said it wasn't her place to give her opinion on the collision and she would leave it to the AFL.
"I haven't been asked to comment on it so I'll let them do what they would like to," she said.
"Obviously, umpire contact's been quite a focus this season.
"So yeah, I'll leave it to them to discuss."
But Nanscawen did remember the incident amid a "chaotic two minutes" where Essendon were attempting to scrap out a win.
"I remember contacting the umpire, and didn't know what that would mean," she added.
"So yeah, we'll see what plays out ... and leave it for them to discuss."
Any ban for two-time All-Australian Sheerin would be a massive blow for the Tigers, who are sixth and half a game off the double chance with one round before the finals.
Richmond's ladder position will be determined by their home game on Sunday against second-placed Hawthorn. All but one of the games this weekend will shape the top eight.
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