Should Fremantle’s Nathan Fyfe face a suspension for making contact with umpire Robert O’Gorman in Saturday’s loss to Carlton?
While AFL great Kane Cornes doesn’t personally believe Fyfe deserves a suspension, he feels the AFL will be consistent and hand out a ban to the Docker.
Following Toby Greene’s six-week ban after bumping Matt Stevic in the 2021 elimination final against Sydney, Cornes told AFL.com.au’s The Round So Far that Fyfe’s contact with O’Gorman would likely come out at “one or two weeks”.
While there’s no doubting Fyfe touched O’Gorman’s chest, journalist Damian Barrett believes the midfielder should get off as he was pushed towards the umpire by Blue Matt Cottrell.
With the MRO's decision set to be handed down on Sunday evening, Cornes and Barrett discussed what Fyfe should expect on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
Barrett: “I don’t see any issue with that, you can see the hand make contact with the umpire but I believe it’s from the movement of Cottrell pushing him in the back.
“The Match Review Officer will need to sign it off officially, but I don’t see a problem, Fyfe will play next week in my eyes.”
Cornes: “Definitely nothing?”
Barrett: “I can’t see how you’d suspend him.”
Cornes: “I like to apply the ‘Toby tax’ to this, I don’t think he (Greene) deserved six (weeks for making contact with an umpire last year).
“I don’t think Fyfe deserves anything, but when that (Greene’s bump on umpire Matt Stevic) is six, is Fyfe’s not a lesser version of that?
“It’s not as serious.”
Barrett: “You can’t even compare them.”
Cornes: “It’s clearly not as serious, but there is contact with an umpire.
“A lot of people with Toby said, ‘We know the umpire was there and you can’t make contact with an umpire’.
“He’s touched the umpire.”
Barrett: “It’s not right to compare that with what Nat Fyfe did.”
Cornes: “I think it’s a lesser version of that, is there contact with an umpire?
“We need to be clear, are you allowed to make contact with an umpire, or not?
“If it’s a no, then he has to suffer the consequences of touching an umpire.”
If Fyfe was to receive a two-week suspension, he’d miss Fremantle’s upcoming games against Port Adelaide and St Kilda.
"Are you allowed to touch an umpire or not? And if it's a no, then he has to suffer the consequences"@kanecornes clashes with @barrettdamian over Nat Fyfe's contact with an umpire, in the context of Toby Green's six-week ban at the end of last year. #9AFLSFS | @Channel9 pic.twitter.com/xAl7mJoNMj
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) June 26, 2022