MELBOURNE defender Luke Tapscott can accept a one match ban with an early plea after being charged with a level three striking offence against Alex Fasolo.

Based on the video evidence available and a medical report from the Collingwood Football Club, the incident was assessed as intentional conduct (three points), medium impact (two points) and body contact (one point).

This is a total of six activation points, resulting in a classification of a Level Three offence, drawing 225 demerit points and a two-match sanction. He has no existing good or bad record.

An early plea reduces the sanction by 25 per cent to 168.75 points and a one-match sanction.