Essendon has been dealt another blow, with the club fined $20,000 after committing five offences of umpire contact in 2026.
The league has the discretion to fine clubs as it sees fit if five or incidents of umpire contact are recorded in a single season.
Angus Clarke and Sullivan Robey were the club's fourth and fifth offences earlier this week.
The club challenged Robey's sanction via written submission but were unsuccessful in having it overturned.
Zach Merrett, Robey and Jye Caldwell were all sanctioned earlier in the year.
Gold Coast was also fined $20,000 last month for its fifth instance of umpire contact.
Both clubs could yet receive further sanctions if there are further instances of umpire contact.
It comes at a time when the league's relationship with umpires is strained, with officiators feeling unsupported for various reasons.
An AFLPA survey publicised on Wednesday evening found 44 per cent of players were unsure what constituted an umpire contact offence.
Speaking on Thursday, Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell believed it should be clear.
A social media post from the AFL's official account earlier in the week inferring the AFL made a decision to stick with Matt Stevic after an uncharacteristic error from arguably the game's best umpire further inflamed relations.
