‘Confusing situation’: AFL concedes error in last minute mayhem
‘Confusing situation’: AFL concedes error in last minute mayhem
AFL football boss Laura Kane has conceded there was an umpire error but defended the crucial last-minute decision not to hand North Melbourne’s Bailey Scott a 50m penalty in the agonising one-point loss to Collingwood.
Kane said the non-decision, which denied the Kangaroos a shot on goal from about 30m out to win the game at Marvel Stadium, was correct, but the umpire should have called “play on” when Scott first took the mark and “took four steps” back in to play.
The Kangaroos defender intercepted a soccer-kick from Collingwood star Nick Daicos with 41 seconds remaining but took steps off his mark into the middle of the ground without being called to play on.
He was immediately set upon by Collingwood’s Beau McCreery and Steele Sidebottom in an apparent infringement over the mark, but Kane said the umpire had been right to resolve the confusion without paying a 50m penalty.