Williams was involved in a particularly controversial tribunal case following an incident in Round 1 1997. After the final siren of Carlton's match against Essendon, umpire Andrew Coates stepped in to break up a small conflict between Williams and Essendon's Sean Denham. Williams pushed Coates in the chest to continue the exchange with Denham. The contact was not violent in nature, but was forceful enough to knock Coates off balance. Coates did not report Williams for the incident, but after viewing video footage, the AFL brought its own report against Williams to the tribunal. He was found guilty of "undue interference with an umpire" and suspended for nine matches.