The AFL are making a stand against umpire abuse after a season which has seen several high-profile incidents occur.
SEN's Sam Edmund is reporting that the league are prepared to suspend anyone who publicly criticises umpires.
Edmund said the warning was sent via the club CEO's in a meeting.
"In a scheduled meeting with club CEOโs, the league warned that it was willing to ban players, officials and even coaches for commenting on the umpiring," Edmund said.
A spotlight was shone on the officiating once again on Friday night when Richmond coach Damien Hardwick made mention of the free kick count at half-time of Richmond's loss to Brisbane.
โSix to 21 free kicks mate, itโs pretty hard to win the ball when youโre either second to the it or the count isnโt going our way," the three-time premiership coach said.
Damien Hardwick was unimpressed by the lop sided free kick count on Friday night. #AFL https://t.co/cMhrRu4xy2
— Zero Hanger (@zerohanger) May 23, 2021
โWeโve got a young midfield we understand that, but we need to start getting a little bit of luck I reckon.โ
Hardwick's comments weren't an isolated incident however, with Brett Ratten also criticising the officiating in his teams loss to Geelong.
The Saints blew a golden opportunity against the Cats kicking 5.15. Ratten said post-game that he felt his team weren't rightfully rewarded for the amount of pressure they applied.
The Bulldogs take top spot on the Free Kick Differential ladder following round 10!#AFL #AFL2021 #GoTiges #MightyWest pic.twitter.com/ie8zrtjgU1
— Zero Hanger (@zerohanger) May 24, 2021
Coaches aren't the only club officials in they bad books with the AFL though. GWS football boss Jason McCartney was served a $20,000 fine after the Giants loss to the Western Bulldogs.
McCartney confronted umpires at half-time of that game to voice his frustration.
The umpires were again in the spotlight this week after a non-decision in the Adelaide vs Melbourne game saw the Demons denied a chance to win the game late.
I loved the drama. But you have never seen a more deliberate out of bounds call in your life. 12 metres out, he handballs directly to the boundary. Demons would have drawn at the very least with a shot from a point down pic.twitter.com/6NR9hsEMGm
— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) May 22, 2021
The AFL later came out and admitted the Demons should have been awarded the free-kick and opportunity to keep their perfect start to the season alive.
A similar situation occurred in Round 2 when Geelong defeated Brisbane. Mark Blicavs was tackled with only seconds remaining and the umpire called play-on.
Brisbane were denied an almost certain goal and win. A non-decision the AFL later said was incorrect.
This Zac Bailey tackle is a massive talking point.
Should this have been paid holding the ball?#AFLCatsLions pic.twitter.com/3NOl9gC1X0
— AFL.com.au (@AFLcomau) March 26, 2021
Geelong were hit by the karma bus at the SCG however. Jeremy Cameron looked to have marked and secured a chance to win the game for the Cats but the umpire deemed the ball to have not travelled 15 meters.
Upon inspection the ball had been marked over 20 meters away from where it was kicked.
