{"id":122175,"date":"2025-09-06T02:34:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T02:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/122175\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T02:34:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T02:34:12","slug":"afl-addresses-pair-of-controversial-free-kicks-from-fridays-qualifying-final-afl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/122175\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL addresses pair of controversial free kicks from Friday’s qualifying final – AFL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The AFL<\/a> has conceded that the controversial free kick paid against Geelong utility Mark O’Connor<\/a> on Lions forward Cam Rayner should not have been given, per SEN’s\u00a0Sam Edmund.<\/p>\n

Geelong utility Mark O’Connor<\/a> gave Rayner a push in the back in Brisbane’s goal square while Tyson Stengle<\/a> lined up to kick Geelong’s fifth goal in a row during the second quarter of Friday night’s blockbuster qualifying final, from which Rayner went to ground and was paid a down-field free kick by the nearby umpire.<\/p>\n

The decision infuriated an already raucous Geelong crowd at the MCG, noise that intensified after Rayner was handed a second free kick directly in front of goal as Cats defender Zach Guthrie<\/a> remonstrated Rayner’s taunts at O’Connor with a bump from behind.<\/p>\n

Edmund reported on Saturday, however, that the free kick on Zach Guthrie<\/a> was “correctly paid”, but the AFL’s concession suggests it should have never been able to occur in the first place.<\/p>\n

The AFL have conceded the first of Cam Rayner’s double free kick goals should not have been paid against Mark O’Connor. The league, however, has stated the second one against Zach Guthrie was correctly paid. But clearly the latter doesn’t happen without the former. @1116sen<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sam Edmund (@Sammy__Edmund) September 6, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

The admission is one of a handful seen this season by the AFL<\/a> in regard to umpiring decisions. In Round 4, the AFL<\/a> conceded that umpires had missed a free kick for Adelaide forward Izak Rankine<\/a> in the dying stages of their one-point loss to Gold Coast, much to the ire of Crows fans.<\/p>\n

“With 1.44 (minutes) remaining in the Gold Coast v Adelaide match, Rankine should have been awarded a mark,” an AFL<\/a> spokesperson said following the match.<\/p>\n

“Subsequently, he was also held in the marking contest, which should have also warranted a free kick. Upon review, the umpires missed it in real time.”<\/p>\n