AFL criticized for insisting referees made the right call during controversial finale to Kangaroos’ thrilling win over Dockers: ‘There’s a thought they just mark every call’
Kane Corners and Tony Jones have criticized the AFL for being “completely wrong” about the controversial ending to North Melbourne’s one-point win over Fremantle on Saturday.
Fremantle trailed by a point after kicking three goals in the final five minutes of the game, when Daniel Howe desperately kicked the ball out of bounds.
A free kick to the Dockers for lack of intent seemed inevitable, but the referees ruled that the siren had sounded before the ball went out of bounds, meaning a free kick could not be awarded.
“The siren went off before going out of bounds,” field referee Rob Findlay told the Fremantle players, who protested to the referees.
That is the call we have made.
Fremantle lost to North Melbourne by one point after the referees chose not to award the Dockers a free kick after the final siren had sounded.
Former Port Adelaide star Kane Cornes (left) criticized the AFL for being too reluctant to admit mistakes, while Tony Jones (right) argued that the call going against Fremantle was wrong.
The decision not to award Fremantle has divided the AFL world and Jones insisted the referees made the wrong decision.
“I’m not involved in any way with these clubs but I think the AFL is dead wrong, I think the siren blew after the ball went out of bounds,” he told Channel 9’s. Sunday football show.
The referees believed that the siren sounded before the ball left the field of play, which meant that a free kick could not be awarded.
In order for a free kick to be awarded, the bounds official would have to signal that the ball is out of bounds before the siren sounds, to allow the official to make a decision.
Former Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes was not surprised to see the AFL defend the decision, suggesting that the league was notoriously reluctant to admit mistakes had been made by referees.
“There is this idea that the AFL just marks every decision,” he said.
“Very rarely do they come out and say it’s wrong.”
On Sunday, the AFL tried to clarify the incident and insisted that the referees made the correct decision.
“The AFL reviewed the final step of play in the Fremantle v North Melbourne match yesterday at Optus Stadium,” it said in a statement.
‘The final siren sounded before the ball went out of play.
The Dockers were left distraught after losing by one point in front of their home fans on Saturday.
Fremantle players were left protesting to the referees after apparently being denied a clear free kick right at the end of the game.
‘The referee’s decision on the ground was correct.’
Dockers coach Justin Longmuir was magnanimous despite the circumstances, saying he was confident the referees had made the right decision.
‘I trust that the referee has done well. My intuition is that we would have stolen it if we had shot on goal and we would have tied or won, ”he said after the game.
I admire the guys’ fight at the end and never-give-up attitude, but we’ve got a bit of work to do. In that last incident, I am confident that the referee got it right.