AFL players blindsided by umpire contact crackdown as new policy comes in mid-season

AFL players could now be suspended for accidental umpire contact in a change that has blindsided players who have been retrospectively fitted with track records.

Any player with four incidents of umpire contact over a two-year period will now be sent directly to the tribunal where they could be suspended at worst, or further fined at best.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: AFL cracking down on umpire contact.

The AFL confirmed the change in a statement released on Monday.

“When an offending player is sanctioned for a fourth or subsequent offence for careless contact with an umpire from across the last two AFL years, the MRO or the EGM football performance will now likely directly refer the player to the tribunal,” the statement reads.

The AFL may then seek from the tribunal an alternative sanction for the offence, which may include an increased fine and/or where applicable, a suspension at the tribunal’s absolute discretion.”

It’s a move that has riled up the playing group, who say they were given no heads up.

“The players have today released a statement to us here at The Agenda Setters saying they actually asked the AFL for a statement and a sit-down, the players and the AFL, a couple of weeks ago,” Mitch Cleary told The Agenda Setters on Monday night.

“That was denied, and they learnt of this today when the AFL released it for the first time.”

Dale Thomas added: “They were so frustrated, the players, and they came up with all these things; between the MRO and the way that has been adjudicated, some of the rule changes — and especially this one, with the threshold changing from what was actually umpire contact.

“And by no means is that dismissing the seriousness of some of those injuries, with the whiplash, the concussions — that’s not a part of that.

“The players are talking (about) purely how they’re going to be fined for this contact and what constitutes being fined.

“They got to the point where they went to the body, the AFLPA, and said, ‘Alright, we want you to organise a sit-down with the AFL and we want to have a seat at the table to work through all these issues, because at the minute, we have no clarity on any of it, and it seems the goal posts are moving week in, week out’.

“It’ll be, by the end of this year, over the 24-month period, $1m the players have given back in fines to the AFL through various sanctions.”

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It means there are several players who are already one mistake away from being sent to the tribunal.

Matt Rowell is already up to four incidents in the past two years, as is Jack Macrae, while Adam Cerra has two.

“So if Matt Rowell essentially gets one more of these umpire contacts, he can be sent to the tribunal and potentially suspended and be out of the race for the Brownlow,” Cleary said.

“But they only learnt of it today; the players weren’t warned.”

Caroline Wilson didn’t have as much sympathy for the players.

“You know what? Tough. Tough. They were warned a year ago,” she said.

Kane Cornes fired back with an example of Josh Dunkley accidentally clipping the foot of an umpire despite not even facing him while focusing on his opponent.

“I get you on some of those; some of those you’re right, some of those they’ve set up in the wrong spot,” Cornes said.

“But there are others that players have been fined (for), which is just an accident.

“Do not suspend a player or fine a player for that.

“That’s just a clip of the heels, it’s a tough game, there are a lot of people on a football field, he’s not even looking.

“To think that Josh Dunkley could potentially miss a final for an incident like that, or even be fined, is ridiculous, so I still think there needs to be some discretion in how serious the incident is on a case-by-case basis.”

Interestingly, the decision has been made while incoming football performance boss Greg Swann is overseas and yet to even begin his role, with Geoff Walsh acting as his stand-in replacement, since the responsibility was taken out of Laura Kane’s portfolio.

While agreeing umpires need to be protected, interim AFLPA boss Ben Smith believed the match review officer and tribunal system is “not working and needs to be reviewed and revised”.

“The safety of umpires is a critical component for the game, and it’s one the players wholeheartedly agree with,” Smith said.

“However, unilaterally deciding to increase the penalties on the playing group to greater extremes without consultation is disappointing.

“The AFLPA wrote to the AFL weeks ago to request a forum where the players can sit down and genuinely discuss these issues holistically with the AFL.

“There are multiple factors that go into the number of fines increasing for careless contact with an umpire, such as additional umpires on the field and greater congestion around the ball, and the players feel the threshold of what constitutes incidental or accidental contact between players and umpires continues to shift.

“They ultimately believe these fines aren’t proportionate to the acts committed.”