‘That’s disgusting’: AFL world fumes at latest penalty farce

Footy fans are once again venting their frustration with the controversial umpire dissent rule, which “completely ruins” the AFL.

Footy pundits have vented their frustration at yet another controversial umpire dissent penalty in the AFL after Sydney Swans midfielder Chad Warner was pinged in a “bamboozling” decision during Friday evening’s loss to Carlton at Marvel Stadium.

The Swans were trailing by 17 points early in the second quarter when Warner found open space near the centre square and ran about 25m before handballing the footy to a teammate.

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But despite bouncing the Sherrin during his brief sprint, the umpire awarded a free kick against Warner for running too far.

A confused Warner threw his arms up in the air, only for the umpire to pay a 50m penalty for dissent.

Players are required to complete a running bounce every 15m and the majority of AFL fans agreed the umpire had made a mistake.

Last week, AFL football boss Brad Scott claimed the umpire dissent rule was quickly becoming a “non-issue” in the sport, but inconsistent officiating over the last couple of weekends has proven otherwise.

Either the umpire has completely missed Warner’s bounce, or he simply can’t count/judge distance. Doubling down with a 50m for dissent over a bad call just tops it all off #AFLBluesSwanspic.twitter.com/muHuBKNJvC

— Matt Forrest (@mattforrest29) May 20, 2022

That is disgusting. Streaming forward, questionable run too far and then gives him 50 for that. Completely ruins games. https://t.co/2GWJRlmqW4

— Ryan Fitzgerald (@FitzySA) May 20, 2022

Tough game to umpire

Everyone makes mistakes

…

But this is bamboozling and surely not what the @afl is aiming to “stamp out”

Original free against Warner completely wrong so surely he can be confused as to what’s happening without it being interpreted as dissent? https://t.co/ZGyYgb7UFK

— Adam Spencer (@adambspencer) May 20, 2022

Carlton ultimately claimed a 15.12 (102) to 13.9 (87) victory, their fourth consecutive win, to continue to consolidate a top four spot.

Blues forward Charlie Curnow extended his lead in the Coleman Medal race booting six goals, including five in the first half. It was the first time a Carlton footballer had kicked five majors in a half since Jarrad Waite achieved the feat in 2013.

“What you’re seeing here … this was a stunning first half by Charlie Curnow,” former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon told Fox Footy.

It seemed as though the Swans may pinch the four points when the margin was cut back to just eight points early in the fourth quarter, but the Blues held on for a famous win that takes Michael Voss’ side to 8-2 for the season.

Charlie Curnow of the Blues. Photo by Michael Klein

Speaking to reporters at the post-match press conference, Sydney coach John Longmire confessed the 15-point loss to Carlton was “disappointing”.

“It was probably a bit of the contested ball, but it was also some contested marks, free kicks, if you look at where they were over the course of the game,” he said.

“We thought we got beaten in the crumbs. After the game our hardball gets were fine, but we got beaten in the crumbs a little bit particularly in that first half, got beaten in contested marks and free kicks.

“Contested ball gets wrapped up into one but our hardness and contest didn’t have the right balance at different times.”

The Swans will next face the Richmond Tigers at the SCG on Friday, with the first bounce scheduled for 7.50pm AEST.