Chief Herald Sun reporter Mark Robinson has slammed the tribunal’s call to overturn James Sicily’s one-match suspension for kicking, asserting the “tribunal has let down football.”
Sicily was cleared to face Melbourne this week after kicking Essendon’s Andy McGrath in the clubs’ Round 1 clash, with the tribunal downgrading the grading of the offence to low impact — resulting in a $2,500 fine.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Tuesday night, Robinson exploded at the tribunal’s reversal, suggesting any kicking action should automatically result in a suspension.
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Robbo GOES OFF on ‘rubbish’ Sicily kick | 01:07
“I find it ludicrous that the AFL tribunal allows a person to kick another player and be fined,” Robinson said.
“The players are the best judge of this — look at (the Essendon players) all attack Sicily for what he did. They all went for him, it’s not on.
“The AFL tribunal has let down football tonight, I don’t say that lightly. I don’t say that often because I really love the game and the players for what they do.
“But there comes a time when we’ve got to protect the game, all of us — the fans, media, players and coaches. And I think the tribunal has let football down.
“I’m just staggered.”
It came on a busy weekend for the Match Review Officer, with James Harmes and Malcolm Rosas both receiving suspensions for headbutting, while Mason Redman was also banned for striking.
As for the Sicily call, AFL 360 co-host Gerard Whatley believes the right outcome was reached even though AFL lawyer Sally Flynn stated “kicking another player has no place in football,” with Whateley arguing there’s nuance in such acts.
Redman & Sicily handed one game bans | 00:33
“I like the AFL’s actions here,” Whateley noted.
“This weekend it went: ‘Clean up your act. Two headbutts, an open-handed strike and a kick — we’re not wearing any of them. You can all have your punishments’.
“Then when you get into the nitty gritty of the system, there was maneuverability here. They’ve been really clear to say (kicking) has no place in the game.”
However Robinson agued the guidelines are “not clear enough”, declaring the tribunal had to make a statement and calling for an AFL appeal.
“They’ve determined it was low impact and they didn’t take anything else into consideration,” he added.
“What about the fact it was a kick? What about the integrity of the game? What about the role models? What about all these things we talk about all the time?
“They have a greater responsibility than that. The AFL should come out and be really strong on this, appeal.”
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