Controversial media figure and former Port Adelaide footballer Kane Cornes has issued an apology to four AFL umpires after the quartet of field officials weighed up legal action following Cornes, as well as Channel Seven co-hosts Luke Hodge and Dale Thomas, made critical comments in the fallout of the Lachie Schultz concussion saga.
The sequence of events began when Schultz was visibly dazed after a head knock against Fremantle at Optus Stadium in Round 9. Schultz was assisted from the field in the middle of the ground, however umpires did not stop play for an extended period as Schultz received attention from medical staff.
The umpires involved, Simon Meredith, Craig Fleer, Justin Power and Martin Roger, were asked by the AF: why play wasn't paused, before an initial statement said that the officials were not aware of Schultz's concussion; however, leaked umpire audio confirmed the opposite.
Laura Kane would release another statement and shoulder the blame for the original inaccurate report, but media commentators had already confronted the issue with their opinions on the matter.
It led to the four umpires weighing up serious legal action on Cornes, Hodge, and Thomas, who made critical comments about the situation and how it was handled.
Cornes had initially stated the umpires should be stood down for a month for their response to the situation, while Hodge named the umpires "liars" onย Agenda Settersย following the emerging audio that the umpires knew about Schultz's condition.
On Thursday evening on SEN, Cornes issued an apology to the quartet for his "false accusations".
"On the May 14th edition of SEN Sportsday I accused field umpires who were officiating that round nine match between Fremantle and Collingwood of misleading the AFL and that they had not seen the incident in which Collingwood's Lachie Schultz suffered a concussion," Cornes said.
"I made some of those comments having seen two initial statements made by the AFL with regards to the matter on Friday May 9th, and then also on Tuesday May the 13th, and further comments after seeing the additional statement made by the AFL.
"I acknowledge that the allegations made by me on this show were false, and I withdraw them. I understand the umpires truthfully told the AFL that they saw the incident and did not mislead the AFL.
"I unreservedly apologise to Simon Meredith, Craig Fleer, Justin Power and Martin Roger for making these false allegations."
Hodge and Thomas are also expected to withdraw their claims on Seven in the coming days. Additionally, AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon also phoned the umpires to apologise in the wake of the potential legal action.
