AFL great Tim Watson believes the tribunal made the correct call in not suspending Carlton duo Ed and Charlie Curnow for umpire contact.
The Curnow’s were both able to convince the tribunal contact made with the umpires in last Saturday’s win over Essendon was careless, not intentional, which resulted in a $1,000 fine for each player.
Gold Coast’s Steven May also escaped suspension for umpire contact earlier this week. The confusion comes when you consider Geelong’s Tom Hawkins copped a one-game ban for umpire contact last week, which has left many stumped as to the messaging surrounding touching umpires.
Watson understands the common view that the tribunal is in a state of uncertainty, but says he is fine with the three players not being subjected to a stint on the sidelines.
“I think the right decisions were made at the tribunal,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“I think the Steven May thing was right and I think last night was. If you study that, I think that’s ok.
“You have got a conflict of views.
“You have the AFL, which has one view about an incident, and then they send it up to the tribunal, which is full of former AFL players, who obviously have a conflicting view about the severity of decisions.”
However, former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon demanded clarity on the issue, saying the AFL needs to deal with the inconsistent decision making from the tribunal.
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