Major broadcaster Channel 9 is understood to be under investigation by the AFL after behind-the-goal footage came to light of GWS captain Toby Greene's backheel directed at Sydney defender Dane Rampe on Footy Classified.
The footage had not been made public by official broadcaster Channel 7 or Fox Footy, or the AFL, sparking an inquiry as to how the vision was sourced and distributed. Behind-the-goals footage is only accessible to all 18 clubs and the rights holders.
Speaking on Fox Footy's Midweek Tackle, Herald Sun journalist Jon Ralph spoke to the "outrage" of Foxtel and Channel 7.
"The vision was missed by the ARC spotters, which is almost unprecedented. They look at absolutely everything, and give it to Michael Christian to assess," Ralph said..
Damning new vision has emerged of Toby Greene's ugly act at the start of the spiteful Sydney Derby. #9FootyClassified | Watch on Nine & 9Now 🖥️ pic.twitter.com/xKtJVzS2ZO
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) July 28, 2025
"Foxtel and Channel 7 are outraged by a side-story; what they see as unauthorised access to broadcast vision. An AFL House and Channel 9 employee put that vision to air on Footy Classified on (Monday) night.
"Their view is that their vision was their vision, and should not have been used by anyone else. They're not sure how it got out of AFL House, or how it was leaked by another football club.
"Their view is this is a $600 million enterprise. That's their investment, their broadcast vision going to a rival network. The AFL says it's investigating, it's called it a 'process error'. I'm not sure that's going to satisfy a couple of parties that are paying $4.5 billion."
The "weird" incident was assessed by the Match Review Officer (MRO), who found Greene wasn't guilty of a reportable offence.
New AFL football chief Greg Swann said the MRO "won't be taking any action on it, only on the basis that he actually doesn't connect", but admitted it was a "bad look".
