Hawks stars slapped with hefty fines after umpire incident
Updated . First published at
Hawthorn defender Tom Barrass and captain James Sicily have been handed hefty fines by the AFL’s match review committee after being charged with engaging in umpire “misconduct” after the loss to Brisbane in Saturday’s preliminary final.
Barrass was seen running and pointing at umpire Hayden Meyer in the minutes following the club’s loss to Brisbane, with the pair having a spirited discussion.
Tom Barrass and James Sicily express their frustration with umpire Hayden Meyer Seven
Barrass was handed a $5000 fine and Sicily – also involved in the gesturing towards the umpire - was slapped with a $10,000 fine by the MRO.
“Both Sicily and Barrass have been charged with “engaging in any other act of misconduct” per the AFL regulations,” the AFL explained.
“The match review officer has determined that the matters do not constitute the fixed financial offence of ‘abusive language towards an umpire’ given the prescribed sanction for that fixed financial offence is inadequate in all the circumstances and does not reflect the seriousness of Sicily or Barrass’ actions.”
The AFL also released a statement condemning Hawthorn fans who threw bottles and cans at umpires after umpire Meyer paid the free kick to Hugh McCluggage in the final seconds that flipped the result of the game, a call that has been widely praised as correct.
Hawthorn fans expressed their fury at the decision, throwing bottles and cans onto the MCG after the game, with some directed at the umpires themselves and others simply littering the ground.
The AFL is now working to identify the culprits.
“The AFL and MCC security will work with Vic Police to identify the bottle throwers directed at the umpires last night. If identified they will be banned from games and the stadium for a minimum five years. The passion for footy is unmatched in Australian sport, however what transpired last night by a number of individuals was dangerous and crossed the line,” the statement reads.
Nine reporter Damian Barrett believes the AFL must look into what was said and whether a sanction is necessary.
“I think he’s going to be questioned by the AFL as to what he was doing in that moment. It’s demonstrable body language to the umpire that delivered that call Hayden Meyer and then you see James Sicily also conversing with him post-match,” Barrett told Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
"He's captain so he's got a different status in that situation, but it's worth the AFL discussing what was said in that moment.
"That vision of Barrass running at that umpire in the moment after the game, there might be an explanation for it, but the question has to be asked."
Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd was disappointed with Barrass and the fans, saying it’s behaviour you don’t expect to see in Australian sports.
"This is something (fans pelting bottles) I would expect to watch in soccer when it turns nasty and likewise with what you just showed with Barrass and Sicily, in soccer they get in the faces of referees and it's aggressive, like the Hawks players were, so I think they should both be potentially sanctioned or receive a please explain," Lloyd said.
Cans and bottles on the ground at the MCG. Getty Images
“There’s no doubt (the players) overreacted. It’s aggressive.”
Sunday Footy Show host Tony Jones was equally angry with the crowd’s behaviour, but wonders why MCG security weren’t surrounding the umpires.
As the umpires attempted to get off the ground, while fans hurled abuse and bottled towards them, security is guarding the fence and are at the exit, but not flanking them as they make their way underneath. Jones believes they should have been around the umpires in numbers protecting them from fan hostility.
"They've got to beef up their security, whether that is an MCC issue or an AFL issue, there's no way those umpires should have been walking off the ground without security. That is such a simple thing to do," he said.
"What are they doing? If you say 'security can't be everywhere', then get more. The MCG security doesn't have a great history, I've got to say.
"Where are they? Take precautions. There's no point standing there like a lollipop lady at a school crossing.
"Back in the old days, they used to have mounted police escorting security off the ground."
The umpires leave the field without much of a security escort. Seven
Fans who are identified as having thrown bottles or cans at umpires will likely face lifetime bans from the sport. A Carlton fan was slapped with a permanent ban in 2024 for throwing a bottle at a goal umpire.
"If you're throwing objects onto the ground at umpires, you need to be banned from footy," former Adelaide captain Rory Sloane said.
When asked about Barrass and Sicily after the game, Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell admitted he had not seen the incident with Meyer.
