Nick Haynes free kick controversy as 13 seconds vanish from clock during frantic finish to Carlton-Richmond clash
More questions have been raised about the frantic finish to Carlton’s two-point win over Richmond on Saturday night, as 13 seconds were incorrectly ticked off in the final two minutes.
The potential timekeeping issue arose when Blues defender Nick Haynes approached the referee, admitting a controversial intentional move with two minutes and one second left in the game.
The clock had stopped when the free kick was awarded but on the Foxtel broadcast, the seconds were seen ticking again as Haynes spoke to the referee and passed the ball back to Richmond for the free kick.
There was a total of 13 seconds left before Mykelti Lefau was awarded the football and the clock was stopped at 1:38 after Lefau scored. The match ended with the ball deadlocked against Richmond’s forward line, but the Tigers ran out of time to score another goal. Ben Ainsworth was also denied the potential to hold on to a free kick in the final seconds when he was judged to have failed to get the opportunity beforehand despite stepping up to intervene.
However, the Tigers were allowed to take a shot on goal after Haynes was penalized for deliberately moving the ball to the back line.
There was just over two minutes left on the clock at the time and the Blues were 14 points ahead, but the referee awarded a free kick to Richmond and apparently ruled that Haynes had “sufficient time and space to clear the ball” under the 18.10 rule.
However, footage from the goal line showed Haynes had already tipped the ball over the line while under pressure, but the goal referee did not call the back.
Haynes then stepped behind the goalpost, apparently to bring the ball back from behind before the referee called the free kick.
Despite Haynes signaling the referees to conduct a video review, Lefau took the free-kick for Richmond just yards from goal and scored a major that reduced the margin to just eight points as Blues fans voiced their objections.
The AFL’s review center cannot overturn a free kick and call the ball back when play restarts following a change to the rules following the round seven match between St Kilda and West Coast. But he can review whether the ball has crossed the line, which appears to have been the case before the incident against Haynes that resulted in a free kick. The AFL refused to comment on the deliberate decision or whether the referee should have called a time-out.
The first reaction of commentator Dwayne Russell, who said that the match belonged to Fox Footy, was that Haynes got a fair point.
“Haynes; he’s smart enough to pull it off,” said Russell, before he and his fellow broadcasters exploded when the free kick was awarded.
However, after the match, Haynes took responsibility for conceding the free kick.
“I think it would have been sweet if I had taken over the first time,” she said.
“I think the hesitation to not take over took some of the pressure off me, so they paid the price.
“It could have gone either way, but I guess I should have rushed the first time and we wouldn’t have even talked about it then, so it’s probably my fault.”
from AAP
