Laura Kane and the AFL have conceded the umpires made a mistake with missed Essendon free kick

In remarkable scenes on Thursday night, the umpire changed his mind on a big call after getting ‘word’ through his ear piece. But it should not have played out like it did, Laura Kane concedes.

The AFL has conceded the umpires made a mistake when it missed a free kick to Essendon for time delay late in the Bombers’ thrilling win over North Melbourne on Thursday night.

Football boss Laura Kane said on Friday the Bombers should have been paid a free kick at full back instead of a ball-up after Roo Jacob Konstanty kicked the ball after the whistle in the last term.

Umpiring standards have been under the blowtorch in recent weeks and, in particular, the debate over the practicality and effectiveness of the four-umpire system.

Initially, the controlling umpire paid a free kick to the Kangaroos which was quickly overruled by another umpire who had a better view of the incident.

However, Kane said the decision to throw the ball up near the goalsquare instead of paying a free kick to Essendon for Konstanty’s time delay was an error.

Jacob Konstanty kicks the ball out of mid air. Picture: Fox Footy

Bombers players react after a free kick was paid against them. Picture: Fox Footy

But the umpire changed his mind after getting word through his ear piece. Picture: Fox Footy

“The field umpire who is the controlling umpire, in error, blows the whistle and calls a free kick to North Melbourne for time delay,” Kane said.

“Another field umpire, or the support umpire through their ‘comms’ (earpiece communication) says ‘No it wasn’t Essendon’ (player who kicked the ball after the whistle).

“But the other umpire doesn’t have a clear enough view on exactly what happened, but just knows it wasn’t an Essendon player who kicked the ball.

“So in the circumstances, the umpires are instructed to cancel the free kick if they know they have made an error, and in this case it was really clear an error was made, and ball it up.

“But upon review, we can now look back and it (should have been) a free kick to Essendon for time delay by North Melbourne.

“It is complicated, but what we are pleased with is the free kick did not go to North Melbourne and that it (original call) was cancelled.

“But you can clearly see looking at the vision now, it is a time delay free kick and should have been paid to Essendon.”

Archie Roberts and Nic Martin couldn’t believe it. Picture: Josh Chadwick/Getty Images

The umpire can be heard saying in the exchange with Essendon players ‘I just got word’ a North Melbourne player was at fault, but the league is adamant the feedback came from another umpire, and not the umpires’ coaches box.

The league has backed the umpiring standards amid some fierce criticism about the whistleblowers’ performance and the difficulty of the umpires’ job in recent weeks.

Kane also said the correct stretcher protocol was followed when forward Harry Jones went down with a dislocated ankle which will sideline him for several months late in the third term.

Bombers’ medicos called for a stretcher, but play continued just before the three-quarter time siren sounded.

The processes around serious injuries are currently under the microscope amid a review following Christian Petracca’s bungled internal injury fiasco on King’s Birthday last year.

Kane said play was allowed to continue in Jones’s situation as the Bomber was on the other side of the boundary line and not in any immediate danger when the stretcher was called.

“It is really unfortunate what happened to him (Jones). It is awful, and really hard to watch for Essendon supporters and his family,” Kane said.

“If the player is not on the actual field of play, it means that he can’t be in the way of the next piece of play.

“The umpires take a really conservative approach and they are always trying to make sure that player is OK.

“What they are looking for is if the stretcher has been called, and that it is actually coming out on the field.

“There are a few seconds left in that quarter, so knowing that that was going to take a period of time, and that he wasn’t in any further harm’s way the umpires have allowed the play to continue.

“We are comfortable with that process but know that the umpires usually take a really conservative approach and protect the players.”

Originally published as Laura Kane and the AFL have conceded the umpires made a mistake with missed Essendon free kick