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Blues ‘bittersweet’ night after Ed Curnow suspended for one match by AFL Appeals Board
THE AFL has almost got its way, with one Curnow brother free to play this weekend while the other has copped a ban. Did the tribunal get it right? Recap all the evidence here.
CARTLON has expressed its frustration and confusion after a “bittersweet” AFL Appeals Board hearing which resulted in midfielder Ed Curnow being suspended for Sunday’s clash with Melbourne.
The AFL appealed the decisions of its own tribunal which on Tuesday night found Blues pair Charlie and Ed Curnow both guilty of making careless contact with umpires and each fined $1000. SCROLL DOWN TO RECAP THE HEARING AND ALL THE DAY’S FOOTY NEWS Appeals were lodged against both verdicts on the grounds that “no tribunal acting reasonably could have come to that decision having regard to the evidence before it” and “the sanction imposed was manifestly inadequate”. JON RALPH: UMP CONTACT STILL CLEAR AS MUD MISTAKE: HOW AFL BUNGLED FYFE RULING WIN $265,000: TOP PERFECT 9 PICKS FOR ROUND 9 NIC NAT ALERT: CHAMPION DATA SUPERCOACH FORMGUIDE However, the appeals board found the penalty for Charlie Curnow was adequate and threw out the case before finding Ed Curnow guilty of making intentional contact with umpire Nathan Williamson, leaving him with a one-week suspension. Carlton football boss Andrew McKay said the findings were perplexing but the club would move on from a “difficult” week in which planning for the clash with the Demons had been far from ideal. “We had a very reasonable jury on Tuesday that found him (Charlie) guilty of that careless contact with the umpire,” McKay said. “(It’s) pretty frustrating that that same jury was found to be unreasonable when they found Ed guilty of that same charge. So to come here it’s a little bit confusing. We’ll cop it on the chin and move on.” Carlton’s player advocate Marcus Clarke QC maintained at the appeal that Ed Curnow was unaware he had made contact with the umpire until after last Saturday’s match with Essendon. The incident was contrasted to that which saw Geelong’s Tom Hawkins suspended for one week for making contact with an umpire a week earlier, with Hawkins said to be in a state of “frustration and anger” while Curnow’s contact was “light ... and incidental” and he was “not being disrespectful” in any way. In pushing for Ed Curnow to receive an increased fine of $2000 instead of a suspension, the Blues pointed out that the 28-year-old had not been suspended for any matter during his career. However, AFL legal counsel Jeff Gleeson QC argued the competition needed to send a strong message that intentional umpire contact would not be tolerated. “Clarity and certainty is needed so players know that is the rule,” Gleeson said. “If you touch and umpire and you mean to that is a suspension.” The board ultimately decided there was “no doubt” Ed Curnow saw the umpire and spoke with him and video evidence showed “that the contact was intentional”. McKay said Ed Curnow was “very disappointed” to receive the suspension but all players needed to be “really aware in this day and age” that any contact with umpires needed to be avoided. LIVE stream every match of every round of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season on FOX SPORTS. Get your free 2-week trial & start watching in minutes. SIGN UP NOW >
Originally published as Blues ‘bittersweet’ night after Ed Curnow suspended for one match by AFL Appeals Board