King takes aim at "soft" sanctions against Sicily and Barrass

Hawthorn co-captain James Sicily and defender Tom Barrass should have been suspended for engaging in umpire misconduct after Saturday’s prelim final defeat to the Lions, according to David King who said fines were simply not enough.

Vision of the aftermath of the MCG thriller showed Sicily gesturing towards umpire Hayden Meyer while Barrass was seen pointing at the official after the siren. The trio appeared to be locked in a heated debate and the AFL ultimately fined Sicily $10,000 and Barrass $5,000.

“Both Sicily and Barrass have been charged with “engaging in any other act of misconduct” per the AFL regulations,” a statement from the AFL said on Sunday.

“The match review officer has determined that the matters do not constitute the fixed financial offence of ‘abusive language towards an umpire’ given the prescribed sanction for that fixed financial offence is inadequate in all the circumstances and does not reflect the seriousness of Sicily or Barrass’ actions.”

For King the sanctions do not go far enough for a dup who should know better.

“It’s soft,” King said on SEN Fireball. “It should have been a suspension.

“These guys have been around long enough to know the fall out for this.”

King’s co-host Kane Cornes agreed highlighting the discrepancy in AFL sanctions.

“Ken gets $20 grand for an aeroplane signal, and they get $5k and $10k for running in the face of the umpire,” Cornes said. “Work that out.

“Sicily’s rap sheet is getting big, if you had one guess for who would be involved in this he would be your first guess.”

Hawks coach Sam Mitchell was asked about the incident on Fireball.

“Yeah, we caught up yesterday. Box Hill had a great win in their Grand Final yesterday. So we all sat and watched that and certainly caught up with those boys and chatted through it," Mitchell said.

“So they'll work through the fines and all the things that they have to do at their end. But I think they knew that the emotions got well and truly the better of them at that moment.”

He was asked if Sicily and Barrass should have been suspended and if there needs to be more respect for umpires.

“I’m not going to get into that. I agree with your second point. I think the umpires have got an enormously difficult job and I go and watch my kids play. I think that the way people treat umpires is very, very important all the way through from junior footy, junior sports all the way into the AFL.

“We have to set a very high bar for what we accept in that area. So I won't get into what the ramifications should be. But I wouldn't call it a pattern of behaviour.

“So I think the thing that has to happen is we need to make sure our umpires are respected and treated that way (with respect).”

Also set for AFL sanctions are the Hawthorn fans who threw bottles and other missiles onto the field after the siren.

Reacting with fury towards Meyer's decision to award a free kick to Hugh McCluggage in the dying moments of the game which ultimately flipped the result in the Lions' favour, fans have been condemned for their behaviour.

The AFL is now working through video evidence of those who threw objects and have warned they could face bans of at least five years.

“The AFL and MCC security will work with Vic Police to identify the bottle throwers directed at the umpires last night," a statement said. "If identified they will be banned from games and the stadium for a minimum five years.

"The passion for footy is unmatched in Australian sport, however what transpired last night by a number of individuals was dangerous and crossed the line."