Confuson reigns over AFL’s investigation into handling of Lachie Schultz incident

Umpires have been left furious after the AFL said it was given the wrong information by whistleblowers on Lachie Schultz’s head knock, with the four umpires to officiate AFL games this weekend.

The AFL umpires at the centre of the Lachie Schultz concussion debacle won’t be suspended amid calls to stand down the whistle blowers for allowing play to continue around him.

High-level talks are ongoing between the league and the umpires on Wednesday night which will attempt to smooth over tensions between them in the wake of the Schultz fiasco.

The Herald Sun can reveal the umpires did tell the AFL they saw Schultz on the ground in the Fremantle-Collingwood clash as part of the league’s investigation last Friday.

Umpires not only saw Schultz but commented on him in the audio which was revealed on Tuesday night on Channel 7.

The umpires - Justin Power, Simon Meredith, Craig Fleer and Martin Rodger - told the AFL last Friday they saw Schultz as they knew their voices were being recorded on the microphones they wear.

However, there is confusion over the discussions the following day which led the AFL to release a statement on Friday saying the umpires did not see Schultz.

The AFL statement said “The play can be stopped by the umpires, who are instructed to stop play as soon as they are aware there is an injured player in the vicinity of play.”

“In last night’s match the umpires did not see the injured player at the time so play continued.

“Upon review, if the umpires were aware play would have been stopped when Daicos had possession in the centre of the ground.”

The Herald Sun understands the league will not sanction the umpires, but will attempt to admit a misunderstanding.

All four umpires have been scheduled to officiate games this weekend, with Simon Meredith umpiring the Collingwood-Adelaide clash.

Craig Fleer will cover Port Adelaide v Geelong, Martin Rodger will officiate the Dons-Dogs clash and Justin Power will umpire Sydney’s clash with Carlton on Friday night.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has called for a full inquest into how the AFL issued the incorrect statement.

“There’s got to be a huge inquest and time spent on this, and really open and transparent communication of what has occurred,” Buckley told SEN on Wednesday.

“It’s not acceptable.

“If Laura Kane has been informed [the umpires did not see Schultz] and she’s gone with it … trusting the person that has informed her, well then it needs to go down the chain to find out who came to this conclusion without doing the work [of checking the tapes] and they need to be counselled.

“There’s going to be some people with egg on their faces. So go and get all that information. And whoever’s going to have egg on their face, make sure that the egg lands where it should, and then communicate that and accept responsibility for it.

“I can’t see how four blokes could conspire to lie to their bosses after having handled the situation well.

“I’m angry. I’m agitated … It might be a bit of PTSD, when you get in a team or an organisation and mistruths are spoken or ownership isn’t taken at different levels, it throws everything into the shadows. It throws everything into disrepute.”

UMPIRES ‘FURIOUS’ AMID BLAME GAME OVER SCHULTZ DRAMA

The AFL Players’ Association says the AFL needs to reform its health and safety processes in the wake of the Lachie Schultz concussion debacle.

Players’ Association chief executive Paul Marsh expressed his dismay at revelations umpires saw Schultz on the ground in the win over Fremantle but dangerously allowed play to continue.

Marsh said it was one of many examples which highlighted serious concerns around how the league managed health and safety issues such as concussions on field.

Privately, umpires are said to be furious at how the last 24 hours in particular has played out, with one source suggesting to this masthead that many feel their integrity was questioned in AFL football boss Laura Kane’s statement that claimed the league was “given the wrong information” by whistleblowers.

The suggestion that it was the umpires who misled the league has drawn ire within umpiring circles, with one source close to the umpiring group describing the latest situation as a “total shambles”.

Last year Melbourne’s Christian Petracca played on with life-threatening internal injuries which has become subject to review.

Geelong’s Jeremy Cameron was also concussed in an off-field incident last year and was allowed to play on, prompting a change to the concussion rules in-season.

Adelaide’s Jordan Dawson was another who played on after a head knock before he was eventually subbed out of the game with concussion in the fourth-term last year.

Umpire Justin Power.

Umpire Simon Meredith.

There was also concern over a Harrison Jones incident last month when play was allowed to continue after the Bomber suffered a serious ankle injury.

Jones was over the boundary line but still close to the play when the game continued.

The Players’ Association says the increasing number of concerning health and safety incidents is a major worry for the game and its stars and should lead to a full examination.

Players are subject to searing review and frame-by-frame slow-motion replays in the match review process which fines and suspends them for disciplinary matters.

Yet industry sources have pointed to a blatant hypocrisy in the Schultz incident after failing to review the incident using the umpire audio.

In the umpire exchange, the whistleblowers can be heard saying to each other: “Got an injured player in the middle...I’m watching.

They later add: “How we looking? We’re OK, we’re OK.

As Schultz stumbled from the ground and fell over, one umpire can be heard exclaiming, “oh”.

Jordan Clark and Lachie Schultz collide.

Schulz is helped to his feet by trainers.

The conversation continues: “It’s OK. What do you think Craig? We haven’t...we haven’t been told. Not yet.”

The umpires’ conversation refers to the fact the whistleblowers had not heard from the medical spotter in the AFL Review Centre (ARC) about Schultz’s condition.

The medical spotter can order the game to be stopped to help care for a player who is suspected to have concussion.

But the responsibility to stop the game also sits with the umpires and does not sorely rest with the medical spotter in the ARC.

The ARC medical spotter is a back-up function for the umpires.

It means the umpires should still have paused the game as they had seen Schultz on the ground, regardless of the help they receive from the ARC.

Umpire Craig Fleer.

Umpire Martin Rodger.

Schultz showed immediate concussion symptoms in Collingwood’s win over the Dockers and the audio revealed on Channel 7 on Tuesday night confirmed the umpires saw he was in a distressed state.

Yet the whistleblowers told Kane they did not see Schultz which was the reason for them allowing play to continue, the league said in a statement last week.

Crisis meetings will continue on Wednesday at AFL House. It is unclear whether the umpires will be selected this week.

Off the field there has also been significant outcry over inconsistencies over penalties for off-field behaviour such as the GWS Giants’ ‘Whacky Wednesday’ dress-up sanctions.

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley was fined $20,000 for his plane jibe after the tense semi-final win over the Hawks last year which became the main promotional tool and marquee match for this year’s Gather Round.

The Players’ Association has a health and safety committee led by former club doctor Ben Barresi and Monash neuroscience professor Sandy Schultz to help guide policy decision-making.

“It is now clear that the umpires noticed Lachie Schultz’ injury and had the opportunity to stop the play to ensure he left the field safely,” Marsh said.

“What this highlights to us is that the process of dealing with vital health and safety issues on the field is unclear, and there are many recent examples of the industry needing to better prepare everyone for when these situations occur.

“Equally, we are disappointed that the AFL failed to appropriately review a serious on-field incident but acknowledge that they have taken responsibility for this.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with the industry to continually strengthen health and safety protocols for our members.”

Laura Kane is under fire over thhe handling of the Lachie Schultz debacle. Picture: Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos/via Getty Images.

Kane said earlier this year recent head injury assessment modifications meant the AFL could manage concussions like the blood rule and would “assist in getting the players off the ground as quickly and safely as possible”.

However, umpires failed to follow correct protocols in the Schultz incident, putting him at risk of further injury.

“It is important that we continue to make it easier for the doctors and clubs to manage any possible head impact,” Kane said.

“We have had ongoing discussions with GMs of football with the overwhelming feedback that this additional measure will assist the club and doctors greatly in assessing and managing potential head impact injuries.”

Originally published as Confuson reigns over AFL’s investigation into handling of Lachie Schultz incident