Gillon McLachlan admits ‘human error’ cost Crows in heartbreaking defeat

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan has apologised to Adelaide after a horror goal umpiring mistake that knocked the Crows out of the finals race.

The AFL has apologised to a furious Adelaide and stood down the goal umpire at the centre of its video review storm but has confirmed the Crows have no recourse to overturn their dramatic last-minute loss to Sydney.

As the league’s goal review system was labelled “amateur hour” on Sunday, Adelaide chief executive Tim Silvers labelled the decision “the biggest match-day mistake” he had seen in his time in football.

He confirmed Adelaide considered a range of options to appeal the decision and keep the club’s finals hopes alive, but there was little prospect of successfully overturning the result.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan launched a robust defence of the process that failed with the Ben Keays goal on Sunday morning.

He said the goal umpire had believed there was a clear deflection from the Keays shot that would have put Adelaide up with 70 seconds on the clock.

McLachlan conceded it was a clear mistake and said if the decision had been sent to the ARC system it would have overturned the behind and awarded Adelaide a goal.

But McLachlan said the league was not prepared to review every score – goal or behind – in the final minute of games because it would interrupt the flow of contests.

The extraordinary mistake kicks Geelong and Adelaide out of the finals race and makes the road ahead more challenging for GWS and the Western Bulldogs.

Ben Keays’ shot on goal was ruled a behind. Picture: Fox Sports

As Geelong champion Jimmy Bartel said on Sunday: “We keep getting told we are a billion dollar industry and then drift back into amateur-hour stuff. The process is right, but an individual panicked and didn’t use the process available to them.”

Silvers said the lack of “further avenues” to appeal the decision meant the Crows would move on begrudgingly.

He said the Crows’ emotions included “frustration, disappointment and a bit of anger”.

“We are shattered. In all my days in footy in 20 years it’s probably the biggest match-day error I have come across. We are really disappointed,” he said.

“We have so many stakeholders venting their frustration, but we acknowledge the AFL has put their hand up and admitted to a mistake here. This is going to sting today and tomorrow for another six months, but hopefully it is going to drive us.

“We have had a number of deep conversations with the AFL overnight. We are disappointed with the outcome. We did have a sleepless night and considered an array of options, but with the bigger picture this is where we landed.”

Ben Keays and Matthew Nicks after the game. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Coach Matthew Nicks would have had an even more powerful case for a new long-term coaching extension had he been able to take the Crows into finals.

McLachlan said on Sunday after speaking to the goal umpire and Adelaide’s key staff that the league had apologised and owned the decision.

“The result stands. This was a mistake. And they happen repeatedly through games. And I take accountability for the mistake on behalf of the league,” he said.

“I want to say conclusively that if the decision had been reviewed, it would have been overturned. And it would have been a goal. It‘s a human error that happens repeatedly through games across the course of the year. But this is an error given the context, and the moment was of great consequence, and I want to acknowledge that was a mistake.”

McLachlan said he was not in favour of reviewing every decision in the final moments of a game given the interruption it caused to the flow of contests.

“There‘s been discussions already this morning, do you do automatic review every single decision in the last minutes of games? Now that slows it down. I’ve been to plenty of games where decisions that are clearly correct are being reviewed potentially over an abundance of caution.”

AFL legend Tony Shaw said on 3AW on Sunday the AFL’s ARC should be able to stop play even in the event of a team bringing the ball back into play after a behind to review a decision if it was obvious a mistake had been made.

Originally published as Gillon McLachlan admits ‘human error’ cost Crows in heartbreaking defeat