Callan Ward received death threats after being accused of staging for a free kick against the Bombers

GWS star Callan Ward has revealed the ugly social media fallout after he was accused of bending the rules to seal a dramatic win.

Cal Ward has been tagged with an ugly accusation.

GWS star Callan Ward was accused of staging to win a free kick that sealed a dramatic win for the Giants over Essendon on Friday night, but on Saturday he revealed the ugly fallout from the incident.

The Sydney side was up by four with 95 seconds left when Ward competed for the ball inside forward 50 after a Bombers defender tried to shovel the Sherrin away from danger.

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Opponent Shaun McKernan also tried to win the footy but gave away a free kick when the umpire ruled he made high contact with Ward.

The 30-year-old was accused of exaggerating the contact to convince the umpire he’d been caught high, with plenty of fans suggesting his performance was worthy of taking place on a Hollywood film set rather than a footy field.

CHECK OUT THE INCIDENT IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE

Ward slotted the subsequent set shot from right in front and the goal proved crucial, giving GWS a 10-point buffer. That meant a late Essendon major was too little, too late as the Giants held on for a tense 8.11 (59) to 8.7 (55) win on the Gold Coast.

Ward denied anything toward, telling teammate Heath Shaw on Seven after full-time: “I thought I played it pretty well. I didn’t play for it, but I knew the contact was coming.”

But in commentary for Channel 7, both Brian Taylor and Wayne Carey thought Ward had taken a dive.

“He certainly helped the decision in the end look a little better than it was,” Taylor said.

Carey added: “His courage will never be doubted this guy, but he did play for that though.”

Iconic caller Bruce McAvaney agreed. “I would have played it on to be truthful. Ward made a lot of it … I think that was play on, but I’m not an umpire,” he said.

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In an interview on Saturday, Ward revealed he had received death threats after the free kick and goal on Friday night.

“The reason I brought (it) up is that I know it (social media abuse) is a reality,” Ward said on 3AW.

“I won’t listen to it, but I know there are people that probably would and I think it just has to stop because if you have been getting death threats like I have been getting, some players couldn’t handle that.

“I guess with what has happened (on Friday night), the most disappointing thing is I have a lot of Essendon supporters and a lot of AFL supporters commenting on photos of Romeo, my baby, and saying that I am a flog and all this stuff.

“I guess I am copping a fair bit and that’s disappointing.

“I am in a situation where I am an AFL footballer, but at the same time I am away from my family (wife Ruby and six-month-old son Romeo, who are back in Sydney) and it is tough. It is disappointing to see where people feel the need to express their passion and hatred towards me at the moment.”

I was critical on social media of Ward staging for free but when you hear him speak on @3AWisfootball of getting death threats on social media it makes you shudder. God help us.

— peter ryan (@petryan) August 8, 2020

Pundits and fans were quick to call out Ward for his, with ex-Sydney Swan Jude Bolton convinced Ward “hammed it up”, even if he did get his head over the ball and put himself in a better position than McKernan.

“Should have just been play on,” Bolton tweeted. “Definitely hammed it up and accentuated the contact from McKernan.”

Ward definitely got his head over the ball.

But his reaction to contact has come under question.

Radio host and diehard Carlton fan Andy Maher wrote: “Love Cal Ward, but if the league’s fair dinkum and consistent he’ll be $500 worse off tomorrow.”

Herald Sun footy reporter Jon Ralph and The Age’s Daniel Cherny were others who believed Ward acted his way into the umpire’s good books.

“If Cal Ward, the toughest player in the AFL, milks a free kick when Shaun McKernan does nothing wrong in a tackle, what hope have the umpires got? It was staging,” Ralph said on Twitter.

Cherny joked: “The big sound was Cal Ward landing his double pike.”

Cam Noakes of AFL.com.au added: “Don’t mind Tom Papley’s fine for ‘staging’, but let’s hope it’s a consistent message. That would mean the MRO fines Cal Ward too.”

Essendon coach John Worsfold appeared frustrated by the call in his post-match press conference but didn’t want to say something he might regret.

“What was the free kick for? I’m not sure,” he said. “It’s hard to comment because I do say it every week, but I won’t say it. I’m not going to say it. No comment on the free kick.”

The controversial incident comes after Swans goalsneak Tom Papley was fined $500 for staging during Sydney’s loss to Collingwood on Thursday night.

Papley’s effort was dubbed the “flop of the year” as he hit the deck in a one-on-one contest with Magpie Brayden Maynard. The incident saw Papley awarded a free kick but upon closer inspection, the Match Review Officer (MRO) decided to hit the small forward with a financial sanction.

“That’s flop of the year,” Maynard told the umpires. “He flopped. He flopped. Where was my hands in his back?”

After Sydney’s seven-point win over Hawthorn in Round 8, Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson said Papley “milks a free kick as well as anyone” in the competition.