AFL issues eye-opening statement confirming dramatic Geelong free kick was incorrect
Adelaide fans’ worst nightmare has been confirmed, with the league admitting to a flaw in its review process.
The AFL has admitted to a flaw in its review process after conceding Geelong should not have received a controversial free kick late in Thursday night’s win over Adelaide.
The Crows should have received the ball when Tom Atkins kicked the ball out of bounds in a contest with Crows opponent Zac Taylor — but the decision went to the Cats and led to a match-sealing goal.
The AFL on Friday said the review centre (ARC) never got the chance to overturn the decision because Atkins restarted the play about six seconds after successfully convincing the umpires.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“The ball came back into play before the ARC had time to intervene on the last disposal free kick awarded to Geelong in the fourth quarter last night,” the AFL said in a statement.
“If the ARC did intervene, the decision would have been overturned.
“The AFL will look at its late-in-game process and the ability to potentially hold play to get the correct outcome.”
Crows coach Matthew Nicks refused to blame the decision as a factor in the defeat, leaning on “a couple of things” they need to work on in “those really close arm wrestles”.
But it was a bitter pill to swallow for Adelaide fans, with the AFL now admitting to umpiring mistakes after five defeats in the past four seasons.
Adelaide missed the finals in 2023 after costly decisions in two losses, while further dramas occurred in 2024 and 2025.
Despite benefitting on this occasion Geelong coach Chris Scott forecast the AFL’s next step in flagging the potential to stop play to make the right call.
“If people are saying that it (the decision) was wrong, it’s likely to be accurate,” Scott said after the game on Thursday night.
“I think it’s a pragmatic, logical decision to say, well, if we can get some help from the ARC on those things, we should do it, but not a way that holds the game up for too long.
“If the question was, ‘Would you rather it take a little bit too long, but they get it right?’, yeah, I’d rather they got it right.”
Atkins was quizzed about the call in the rooms on Thursday night.
“Yeah, did it come off me?” Atkins asked.
Brian Taylor replied: “It looked like it did on the replay.”
Atkins: “Yeah, right. I thought it was pretty line ball. I just tried to grab the ball and act like it was mine. Yeah. I don’t know how they even decide that to be honest.”
Originally published on 7NEWS Sport
