AFL 2021: Date confirmed for Toby Greene’s ‘ump bump’ tribunal hearing

The AFL has confirmed a time and date for Toby Greene’s tribunal hearing after the GWS star was charged with intentional umpire contact.

Toby Greene will face the AFL tribunal on Tuesday morning, having been charged with intentional umpire contact over the weekend.

The GWS small forward created controversy during his side’s elimination final win over Sydney after it appeared he had bumped into umpire Matt Stevic.

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On Sunday, match review officer Michael Christian referred Greene directly to the tribunal over the incident, meaning he cannot accept an early guilty plea.

The following day, the league locked in 9am (AEST) Tuesday for the star’s hearing.

“Intentional umpire contact” is one of nine offences that results in a player fronting the tribunal without having the option to enter a plea. Others include eye gouging, stomping, serious misconduct and spitting on another person.

Greene risks missing the Giants’ semi-final clash with Geelong next week, pending the tribunal’s findings.

Greene was the only Giant selected in the All-Australian team this week. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

On Sunday afternoon, the “ump bump” saga took a new turn, after a previously unseen camera angle and a slow-motion replay caused debate amongst footy pundits.

On first glance, the footage of Greene’s bump looked forceful, but a slow motion replay appears to show that Stevic moved away from Greene of his own accord.

“In real time, it certainly looks like he bumped him but then once you slow it down … it might be the camera that (makes it) look (forceful). I think it comes down to the evidence from Matty Stevic,” four-time premiership player Jordan Lewis said on Fox Footy.

“As far as I’m concerned, if Matt Stevic thought there was any physical contact or he was under any sort of duress, then Toby Greene is rubbed out,” media personality Eddie McGuire added.

“It’s as clear as day. If he says, ‘No, we were talking to each other, we had eye contact and I knew to move because we knew we were in each other’s space’, then there is an argument for him to not be rubbed out.”

The Giants held on to defeat their local rivals on Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Grant Viney/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Lewis appeared dumbfounded by Greene’s decision to approach the umpire given his temperament.

“There’s a lot of grey in our game left up to interpretation, the one thing that you understand as a player is you do not go near umpires if you’re aggressive,” the former Hawk and Demon said.

“You approach them in the most respectful way.”

Hawthorn legend Dermott Brereton said he found it difficult to believe no contact had taken place at all.

“The contact has happened. As to how forceful or how much contact was made, there’s only one person who will be willing to answer that,” he said.

“It will rely on Matt Stevic’s comment.”

UPDATE: "There is clearly shoulder to shoulder contact there" pic.twitter.com/chxnGvcOKM

— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) August 29, 2021

Shortly afterwards, a previously unseen camera angle proved a game-changer.

The Herald Sun’s Jon Ralph shared vision that confirmed Greene had indeed made contact with Stevic and said this would mean a date with the AFL tribunal.

Greene was instrumental in his side’s victory on Saturday night. He scored three goals — more than any other Giant — to go with three tackles and one clearance.

The match was an enthralling chapter in one of AFL’s greatest modern rivalries.

After trading blows for the first quarter, the Giants cut loose from the Swans in the second to open up a 23-point lead at the long break.

The Swans’ final-quarter fightback turned it into a one-score game, but poor kick accuracy cruelled the men in red and white as GWS held on for a famous victory.

Originally published as AFL 2021: Date confirmed for Toby Greene’s ‘ump bump’ tribunal hearing