A costly 50m penalty against Geelong star Bailey Smith 80 metres off the ball has come under fire in a contentious moment from Thursday night’s one-point loss Adelaide.
Smith and Crows opponent James Peatling got tangled up in a fiery exchange during the third quarter after the Cats jet was heavily tackled to the Adelaide Oval turf.
Watch every match of every round of the AFL Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
Smith got up and went back at Peatling and it turned into a two on two scuffle as Tom Stewart and Darcy Fogarty got involved.
The blonde-mulleted superstar’s guernsey got torn as the ball went to the other end of the ground.
Smith then pulled at Peatling’s jumper and dragged him to the ground to the ground, which the umpire called a free kick against, despite live play in Geelong’s forward 50.
“He’s given away a free kick has Smith – 80 metres away!,” Kangaroos great David King said on Fox Footy commentary.
“Peatling was annoying him and it went forever.
“And there he is – just rips him to the ground.
“If you pull a player to ground, you run the risk of having the umpire call it.”
READ MORE
Heartbreaking skipper sight as injury chaos, Cats hoodoo can’t stop Crows in epic win
‘THEY’RE NUFFIES’: Scott responds to fan exchange, calls out AFL over glaring issue
Scott Responds to glaring AFL issue | 07:33
Despite the decision being in favour of his former club, Crows legend Mark Ricciuto couldn’t believe the free kick call.
“There’s nothing in it,” he said.
“Umpires have got to be better than that. You can’t be giving free kicks for that. That is a huge turnaround.”
King described it as a “100m penalty,” but said Smith ran the risk with his actions
“If you pull a player to ground, you run the risk of having the umpire call it,” he said.
Ricciuto replied: “Do we want blokes doing that and getting free kicks? I don’t think so.”
Speaking after the loss, Geelong coach Chris Scott said he didn’t see the incident, but suggested that and instances with minimal contact didn’t warrant “heavy penalty” free kicks.
“I haven’t seen it. But strangely, it was relayed to me that maybe the commentators thought there were wasn’t enough (in it). It’s a heavy penalty,” Scott said.
Crows hold on to snatch win over Cats | 03:11
He added with a laugh: “I tried to have a look at it, but even the behind-the-goals vision couldn’t pick it up, it was too far away.
“But that’s sort of the nature of our game, a little bit.
“Like, for example, that’s (grabs his shirt) holding the man in a ruck contest. Should it be? That’s not enough to impede him.
“Is the penalty way off the ball too great? Well, the answer is yes. But what’s the proposal to make it more representative of the action? I don’t know.”
It comes after Geelong’s Ollie Dempsey was last week denied a goal due to an AFL score review system “howler” in the loss to Carlton.
“It’s a bit like last week. I honestly don’t spend too much timing thinking about it. If I thought I could influence it, I would try,” Scott added.
“But they don’t listen to us around that stuff and that’s probably the right approach to take. We’ve got enough on our plate.”
Nicks praises Dawson after inspiring win | 11:27
Saints champion Leigh Montagna also wasn’t a fan of the free kick against Smith.
“It is (a big penalty), I don’t necessarily like to see them paid,” Montagna said.
“I don’t think there’s a need, tell the player, get up, move on and let them go. It doesn’t affect the game.
“I thought even the 50m penalty early in the game against Brayden Cook, it didn’t affect anything, he tried to run on the outside of the player.
“That almost changed the game and gave Geelong an opportunity.
“Sometimes I just think, I know the AFL say technically they’re all there, but sometimes you’ve just got to umpire in the spirit and feel for the game.”