Gold Coast SUNS key defender Steven May has been given a three-game suspension after the AFL Tribunal didn’t accept his argument that he had no alternative but to bump Tom Rockliff in the opening minutes of Saturday’s QClash.

The Match Review Panel originally offered May a two-week sanction with an early guilty plea, but the SUNS backman elected to contest the charge.

On Tuesday night, the case came down to whether or not May had an alternative to bumping Rockliff and if he was contesting the ball. The jurors on the tribunal found May guilty, contending that although he was contesting the ball, he had an alternative option to bumping the Brisbane captain.

The 22-year-old will miss the SUNS' next three matches against Adelaide, West Coast and Collingwood and expressed his displeasure with the decision following the hearing.

“I’m extremely disappointed. While I respect the tribunal’s decision, I felt we had a very good case. But, unfortunately for the next three weeks I’ll be in the stands,” May told SUNS TV following the tribunal hearing on Tuesday night.

“I stand by what I knew and that is that I was contesting the football. I had no other option but to bump Tom Rockliff out of the way and gather possession – which I did.

“I couldn’t have pulled out, because obviously that’s unacceptable at our footy club.”