AFL admits several mistakes were made during the Crows vs Saints game

A Monday night blockbuster was ripped apart by fans who took aim at the umpires, now the AFL has admitted to errors being made.

The umpires made several mistakes throughout the game.

The Adelaide Crows game on Monday night against St Kilda was torched by fans who were unhappy with the constant noise of hearing the umpires’ whistles.

A stunning total of 48 free kicks were paid as the Saints ran away to record the 23-point victory against the Crows.

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But those watching on couldn’t help but point out the glaring inconsistency in what was being adjudicated by the men in charge.

A change implemented to the holding the ball rule, brought in after Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson demanded teams be rewarded, saw 12 holding the ball free kicks awarded.

Saints coach Brett Ratten wasn’t happy with what the change to the game had done to contests around the ground.

“Sometimes it’d be pretty hard to be a ball player and try and put your hands on it,” Ratten told reporters post-game.

“We have to be careful that we haven’t got players just sitting there waiting to tackle players. That’s not how we want to play the game.

“It’s a fine line and you’ve got to be given some sort of chance to get rid of it.

“We’ll just leave that to the umpires though. If it gets a bit tougher and they’re hotter on it, we’ll try and adjust as quickly as we can.”

BALL.

On Tuesday the AFL however admitted the game was riddled with missed calls and decisions that were made were incorrect.

“We acknowledge there were decisions in last night’s game that were either missed or unwarranted free kicks and we will continue to work towards ensuring stronger consistency in decision making, particularly with regards to Holding the Ball decisions,” league footy boss Steve Hocking said.

“Earlier this season, we identified a number of instances where players failed to make a genuine attempt to dispose of the football when legally tackled and should have been penalised for Holding the Ball (No Genuine Attempt). This was then communicated to clubs with the following description:

“Where a player is in possession of the football and has not had prior opportunity, a field umpire shall award a free kick if the player is able to, but does not, make a genuine attempt to correctly dispose of the football when legally tackled.

“Like many people in our game, umpires have made significant sacrifices to keep the game going for all fans across the country, including moving interstate at short notice for extended periods of times, and we thank them for their professionalism and commitment throughout this unprecedented season.”

A report from Nine and Fox Footy stated AFL umpires boss Hayden Kennedy had phoned both Ratten and Crows coach Matthew Nicks on Tuesday to acknowledge the mistakes that had been made throughout the game.

Originally published as AFL admits several mistakes were made during the Crows vs Saints game