"So I can just move forward and focus on the game ahead.
"I just want to thank everyone that helped me today."
The verdict is a big win for Canterbury coach Des Hasler as his team get set to face a dominant Roosters outfit at Allianz Stadium on Friday night.
Pritchard has been in some of the best form of his career and his giant frame will be valuable against a strong Roosters pack.
Pritchard was cleared by the three-man judiciary panel of Bronson Harrison, Mal Cochrane and Sean Garlick, a result which guarantees him at least one more game in the NRL.
The 31-year-old has signed with English Super League side Hull FC next year and a guilty verdict and one-game suspension could have spelled the end of his time in the Australian competition.
Ghabar argued that the Bulldogs forward stepped on Widdop with his left foot and tripped over him while running at full speed.
He said that the "nature of the contact was innocuous".
Pritchard told the hearing while he did make contact with Widdop's back, he connected with his lower leg or shin rather than his knee after successfully pulling out at the last moment.
Ghabar said Pritchard was running at full speed trying to retrieve the ball and had actually done well to avoid heavy contact with the knee.
When asked if contact could have been avoided, Pritchard said: "Not at all, not at full speed."
NRL counsel Peter McGrath unsuccessfully argued his case that despite Pritchard's best efforts, he still made careless contact.
- AAP
