Australian rules football icon Leigh Matthews has sympathised with AFL match review officer Michael Christian amid a barrage of scathing attacks.
St Kilda great Leigh Montagna is among those who’ve accused Christian of inconsistency on the back of two decisions made this week, involving Geelong‘s Tom Hawkins and the Western Bulldogs‘ Zaine Cordy.
While Hawkins escaped without any penalty for a tackle that left St Kilda’s Darragh Joyce concussed, Cordy was hit with a $2000 fine for a near-identical action against Hawthorn‘s Jacob Koschitzke, who played on.
Hawkins and Cordy both drove the ball-carrier hard into the ground from behind head-first, yet Christian made different rulings on the incidents.
“How you sort it out is the great problem,” Matthews said on SEN.
“The Tom Hawkins one last week is the real fine line one, wasn’t it? I’m more than happy that that was regarded as accidental rather than careless.
“If you regard it as Tom’s being careless, then he’s likely to get a week or two.
“But there is such a fine line between these.
“Every now and then, an umpire will rule on-field that it’s a dangerous tackle. Now that’s because the head might have made some contact with the ground.
“Any tackle if the head hits the ground hard, you … might be in trouble with the judiciary.
“What’s an aggressive tackle and what’s a dangerous tackle is so fine line. It’s going to be a nightmare, I reckon, for the match review officer and the judiciary.
“You’re going to get people who are lucky, or unlucky.”
Montagna was left dumbfounded at Christian’s mixed rulings.
“I can’t believe this. So Tom Hawkins has not been charged for this – nothing to answer. Yet Zaine Cordy laid a similar tackle but he’s been fined,” Montagna said.
“Tell me how that’s different to Tom Hawkins when actually he’s got the football? He’s been sanctioned for that but Tom Hawkins has not been sanctioned for his tackle.
“This is ridiculous, this has gone to a whole new level of inconsistent and confusing.
“All year, we’ve been conditioned that it’s outcome-based. So generally, if you’ve hurt someone or they’ve been concussed, we know you’re in strife
“What is going on?”
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