Carlton star Adam Cerra facing AFL’s first suspension for careless umpire contact charge

Carlton’s Adam Cerra is set to be the first player to face suspension under the new umpire contact ruling following an incident on Thursday night.

Carlton’s Adam Cerra has become the first player at risk of suspension from the tribunal over his fourth careless contact charge with an umpire.

The Blues’ midfielder will face the tribunal next week as part of the league’s crackdown on umpire collisions after tangling with a whistleblower in the loss to Brisbane Lions on Thursday night.

And Brisbane star ballwinner Zac Bailey will miss the blockbuster clash against Western Bulldogs on Friday night after he received a one-match ban for rough conduct.

Bailey caused a head clash with Carlton’s Nick Haynes as part of a high bump on the boundary line.

Adam Cerra makes contact with the umpire on Friday night

His absence will be a major blow for the Lions as they try and secure a top-two spot despite a tough run home.

But Cerra is the one who will break new ground after the AFL changed its rules on umpire contact last week to help increase sanctions for bumping into a whistleblower.

Cerra was trying to stop Brisbane’s Lachie Neale in the loss to the Lions when he crashed backwards into an umpire late in the second term at Marvel Stadium.

Significantly, it was Cerra’s his fourth umpire contact charge in two years, triggering a tribunal appearance.

While the league is reluctant to suspend players for umpire contact, Cerra will be put under the spotlight at the tribunal and asked to explain his movements.

The field umpire clearly signals where he will move backwards before throwing the ball up late in the second quarter when he is knocked to the ground by Cerra.

A heavy fine remains the most likely outcome in what is the AFL’s first test case on the matter, while a suspension would ban one of the Blues’ best midfielders for Saturday night’s clash against Melbourne at the MCG.

The Blues also face a fine of $5000, which is exempt from the soft cap, under the new rules.

The AFL Players’ Association is unhappy with the increase in fines players have received in recent seasons.

Zac Bailey could be in danger of suspension. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

But the league is adamant it wants to provide more protection for umpires on the field amid an increase in umpire contact cases.

From last week, any player who is booked for a fourth time in a two-year window for umpire contact will be sent to the tribunal.

“We are seeing far too many instances of avoidable umpire contact, and since writing to clubs on this issue in February and again in April we have not seen a change in behaviour, and in fact seen an increase in umpire contact,” AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said.

“We have an obligation to provide the best working environment for everyone, including the umpires, and there have been too many instances of avoidable umpire contact.”

‘Common sense’: Voss, Fagan weigh in on costly umpire collision

- Ronny Lerner

Carlton coach Michael Voss “absolutely” believes a ball-up should take place if an umpire collision with a player impacts the play as much as it did on Thursday night at Marvel Stadium.

During the first quarter of the Brisbane Lions’ 37-point win over the Blues, umpire Andrew Heffernan obliviously ran backwards into the thick of the action and clashed heavily with Carlton’s Lachie Cowan.

The coming-together floored the unattended Cowan and prevented him from taking a regulation mark in defence.

From the resulting spillage, Brisbane star Cam Rayner mopped up and dished it off to Charlie Cameron who snapped truly from 20m out, much to the chagrin of the Blues faithful.

The incident occurred just five days after Essendon coach Brad Scott blasted the umpires’ on-field positioning after his young charge Nate Caddy was involved in a similar clash against Gold Coast.

The Blues’ umpire clash was costly.

Charlie Cameron maximised the opportunity. Picture: Mark Stewart

“If you’re interrupting the passage of play, I would’ve thought it’s common sense to make that a ball-up,” Voss said.

“Maybe that’s something they need to make an adjustment on in the future if there’s a different interpretation on that ... so there’s no advantage to any other team.”

Despite the recent spate of hard clashes between players and umpires, and Scott’s unambiguous criticism of the umpires, Voss wasn’t concerned about where they were positioning themselves.

“They’re pretty detailed in the way they position themselves and I think generally we get it right,” Voss said.

“When you watch the four umpires, there is a way they move around the ground so we back in that that’s coached and it’s coached really well.

“We don’t get it perfect and I suspect they won’t either.”

Lions coach Chris Fagan was bemused at how the Caddy and Cowan incidents happened in such quick succession.

“Isn’t it funny in footy how suddenly something becomes a topic and then things keep happening to keep it going as a topic,” Fagan said.

“We’ve got to look after the umpires and protect the umpires but sometimes accidents happen.”

Voss stressed that the league’s recent crackdown on careless umpire contact, which could see suspensions meted out to repeat offenders, had been clearly relayed to his players.

“It’s been something that we’ve all been really mindful of within the industry,” Voss said.

Fagan had his own view on how contact between umpires and players could be radically reduced.

“The things that the AFL are talking about that we’ve now put in place, I think they’re good,” he said.

“But I’m a fan of not bouncing the ball. I think that would help some of those collisions that happen at centre bounces.

“If the ball-up is predictable, then it makes it so much easier for the umpire to get out, for players to read the ball.

“As soon as you bounce it, it could go anywhere, players are watching the ball, they’re not even looking at the umpire because they’re under pretty strict instructions to get that ball out of the centre as often as you can so I think we need to talk about it a little bit more.”

Originally published as Carlton star Adam Cerra facing AFL’s first suspension for careless umpire contact charge