The AFL has privately admitted a series of officiating errors from Saturday’s Round 16 match between Essendon and Geelong that should not have been called against the Bombers.
The match was somewhat marred by a series of controversial refereeing decisions that left players, coaches and fans perplexed and bewildered.
A hasty decision against Jye Menzie and a holding decision against Jordan Ridley were among the decisions deemed most questionable in the eyes of coach Brad Scott and Essendon fans.
The AFL has decided not to publicly address the controversial officiating decisions following Round 16, but has reached out to Scott, who disagreed with some of the explanations, to clarify some of the decisions made in his team’s 45-point loss to the Cats.
“I was pleased the AFL actually took the initiative and reached out to me directly,” Scott confirmed on AFL360.
“I didn’t necessarily intend to reach out to them unless there was something our players needed to clarify going forward.
“His explanation helped me. I don’t necessarily agree with everything, but it doesn’t matter if I agree or not. What I want to know, particularly when it comes to ball retention, is what the referees are looking for and how they want to apply the rule, and how our players play based on that.
“We can get caught up in the debate. I’m not interested in the debate anymore, I’m interested in how they resolve it.”
Confirming that the AFL had told Essendon that mistakes had been made, Scott said his main concern was how fans were understanding the new interpretation of holding the ball.
The former AFL football chief executive addressed Ridley’s decision at length, stressing the fact that the Dons defender could have dropped the ball rather than taking it to the ground and therefore would not have been penalised.
“This is not a witch hunt, this is not about seeking revenge. Mistakes are mistakes. The AFL has admitted it was deliberately quick to attack,” Scott added.
“As for the ball retention, my interpretation of what are and are not free throws, the referees had a different opinion. In Ridley’s case, for example, there was no prior opportunity, but in the referee’s opinion there was not enough intention to get rid of the ball. That is a mistake and the referees have said so.
“I find it very difficult to handle the ball with both arms tied. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to do it. If Ridley had let go of the ball and kicked his foot out towards it and missed it, he would have kept playing.”
“My concern with that is that the fans in the stadium would think he’s holding the ball.”
In future, the AFL will deal with questionable officiating decisions privately unless a match-defining decision is made and needs to be explained to the public.
