'Can't say anything more': Commentator Dale Thomas responds to news senior umpires weighing up legal action against him
Updated . First published
Collingwood premiership player Dale Thomas has responded to the news that he is among the media personalities who may face legal action from four senior AFL umpires.
According to 9News Melbourne's chief footy reporter Tom Morris, Thomas, as well as Kane Cornes and Luke Hodge, who are the faces of the league's free-to-air broadcast network Channel Seven, were critical of umpires Simon Meredith, Craig Fleer, Justin Power and Martin Rodger in the wake of the Lachie Schultz concussion drama.
It took the AFL and Laura Kane three statements to finally assign blame for the situation, after play continued while Schultz groggily stumbled from the field.
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The AFL's second statement on the situation blamed the four umpires for seeing the injured Magpie and allowing play to continue regardless, saying the umpires gave the AFL wrong information in the aftermath.
Dale Thomas, Kane Cornes and Luke Hodge. Seven Network
That situation arose after Channel Seven aired umpire audio of the incident, where they can clearly be seen discussing the incident.
With the information available at the time, Cornes, Hodge and Thomas, speaking on Seven, heavily criticised the umpires for what unfolded.
On Wednesday, Thomas addressed the situation, saying nothing official has yet come across his desk.
"As things stand on (Wednesday morning) I haven't received any formal documents from anyone, I am aware of the statement that has been made, I obviously can't say anything more until any new information is brought to light," Thomas told Triple M.
For legal reasons, Wide World of Sports can't report what was said at the time.
However, a third statement then dropped in the days that followed, which finally cleared the air, revealing a miscommunication between the umpires and AFL House was really to blame for the initial statement.
Given the comments from the trio, Morris said the umpires remain "filthy" with the broadcasters.
Kane Cornes for Channel Seven. Getty
"They are filthy. Not at the AFL, but at three of the most high profile experts in the game," Morris told 9News Melbourne.
"I can tell you that umpires Simon Meredith, Craig Fleer, Justin Power and Martin Rodger are considering taking legal action against Luke Hodge, Dale Thomas and Kane Cornes.
"The umpires remain furious that Hodge, Thomas and Cornes made comments heavily criticising them on Channel 7 on May 13.
"I've spoken to Rob Kerr, who is the Umpires' Association boss.
"He confirmed in a statement to 9News that Meredith, Fleer, Power and Rogers were weighing up their legal options."
In the statement, Kerr said the comments from the broadcasters went "beyond simply questioning" the incident involving Schultz.
"The umpires involved in the Fremantle vs Collingwood game have been advised as to their legal rights in relation to some of the commentary that followed the Lachlan Schultz concussion issue," he said.
"Being falsely accused of lying and misleading the AFL goes beyond simply questioning the management of the actual incident.
"Public commentary that casts aspersions on an individual's integrity and professional competence, particularly when that is core to the role they perform, harms their personal and professional standing and it is reasonable to consider how that can be rectified."
