Umpires weighing up taking legal action against Ch 7 personalities

Three of the biggest AFL media personalities could reportedly face legal action from four umpires over comments made on air.

Four AFL umpires are reportedly weighing up legal action against Kane Cornes, Dale Thomas and Luke Hodge in the wake of Lachie Schultz’s concussion saga.

The four men in control of the contest that took place at Optus Stadium on May 8 have explored their legal rights regarding comments made by the Channel 7 trio over their handling of the incident.

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Collingwood’s Schultz was left concussed during the club’s round nine clash against Fremantle at Optus Stadium on May 8.

The 27-year-old was evidently dazed after an ugly fourth-quarter collision with Fremantle’s Jordan Clark as play continued to unfold.

A day after match the AFL released a statement saying the umpires “did not see the injured player at the time so play continued”.

AFL executive general manager of football Laura Kane was then forced to come forward and admit the information given by the umpires was “inconsistent” with new audio first uncovered by Channel 7’s Agenda Setters.

The audio, which can be heard in the above video player, appeared to show the umpires were aware of Schultz’ condition.

The three former AFL stars, turned media personalities, were largely critical of the umpires involved after hearing the audio during a show that went to air on May 13.

Dale Thomas (left), Kane Cornes (middle) and Luke Hodge (right) could be facing legal action from the umpires.

The saga took a fresh twist however only days later when the AFL issued a third statement which noted a miscommunication between the umpiring department and AFL House was to blame for the initial statement.

Weeks later the story is now back in the spotlight with the four umpires considering taking legal action against the Channel 7 trio, according to Nine’s Tom Morris.

“They are filthy. Not at the AFL, but at three of the most high profile experts in the game,” Morris told 9News Melbourne.

“I can tell you that umpires Simon Meredith, Craig Fleer, Justin Power and Martin Rodger are considering taking legal action against Luke Hodge, Dale Thomas and Kane Cornes.

“The umpires remain furious that Hodge, Thomas and Cornes made comments heavily criticising them on Channel 7 on May 13.

“I’ve spoken to Rob Kerr, who is the umpires’ association boss.

“He confirmed in a statement to 9News that Meredith, Fleer, Power and Rogers were weighing up their legal options.”

News.com.au contacted Channel 7 who responded with: “no official comment at this stage”.

The move comes after Morris said on Channel 9’s Footy Classified on May 13 that the umpires were not happy with Kane’s handling of the incident.

Morris said he has been told by one umpire: “A large section of umpires are filthy. They feel they continually get thrown under the bus”.

Kane ultimately admitted the AFL got it wrong with their first statement and said the miscommunication had come from the umpiring department, not the field umpires.

“Our process in determining what happened Thursday night failed and for that we take full responsibility,” Kane said.

Schultz was visibly concussed during the fourth quarter incident. (Photo by Janelle St Pierre/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

“Today we have determined there was a miscommunication from members of the umpiring department, not the field umpires, which formed the basis of our initial public statement on Friday.

“Those team members have been counselled and reminded of the importance of ensuring our process is fully followed regarding these types of incidents and in this instance it was not.

“I have asked GM Football Performance Josh Mahoney to review these processes to ensure the right information is communicated and to ensure this does not happen again.

“Everyone, including our umpires are aligned in ensuring the health and safety of players continues to be the utmost priority and the AFL has been in regular contact with the AFLUA today.”