Dockers win siren debacle
May 3, 2006
FREMANTLE has been awarded victory and four competition points from its disputed match against St Kilda, the AFL Commission ruled in Melbourne today.
Fremantle led Sunday's match in Launceston by a point when the siren sounded.
But the umpires did not hear it and St Kilda scored a behind to level the scores before the match was brought to an end.
The Dockers had lodged a protest over the result of the match, with the AFL Commission deliberating for more than four hours today before awarding the points to the Dockers.
AFL Commission chairman Ron Evans acknowledged there would be many unhappy with the decision, but said the league took full responsibility for the debacle.
He said the commission believed Fremantle had rightfully won the match, with the timekeeper making an error by not holding down the siren once the umpires had not heard it.
"The match concluded immediately after the siren was first sounded in the final quarter," Evans said.
"The effect of this interpretation is that the Fremantle Football Club won the match."
St Kilda president Rod Butterss said the club would decide tomorrow whether to take legal action in an attempt to get the decision overturned and the draw reinstated.
Butterss acknowledged had the two clubs' positions been reversed, St Kilda would have also protested against the result.
But he said that was not the point and warned the commission's decision to change the result of Sunday's match could have far-reaching consequences for the sport.
Evans said the incident reflected badly on the AFL and it needed to apologise, fix the shortcomings in the system and get on with things.
"The AFL accepts full responsibility for what took place and unreservedly apologises to the clubs involved, the players, and football fans," Evans said.
Fremantle now leapfrogs St Kilda to sixth position with three wins and two losses, while the Saints now slide to eighth place behind the Dockers and Geelong.
St Kilda now has a 2-3 win-loss record.
The four-day saga began when the siren sounded at Aurora Stadium in Launceston with Fremantle a point in front.
Controlling umpire Mathew Nicholls did not hear it, allowing play to continue despite Dockers players celebrating then protesting around him. He bounced the ball after a stoppage inside St Kilda's 50-metre arc.
St Kilda's Steven Baker levelled the scores with a point, which was paid amid mass confusion as players from both sides herded around the Saints' goal.
Non-controlling field umpires Hayden Kennedy and Michael Vozzo also ran down the ground, with Kennedy holding his hand to his ear. The three umpires conferred before Baker was paid a free-kick for being bowled over after his previous kick.
The original point was annulled and the second kick from 40m also missed to the left, going through for a point.
The umpires heard a second siren and ended the match.
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