Leigh Matthews has slammed the umpiring decision that saw West Coast midfielder Elliot Yeo pinged for holding the ball that handed North Melbourne a match-winning goal on Saturday afternoon.
With less than two minutes on the clock, a controversial umpiring call gifted the Roos the lead as Eagles star Elliot Yeo was pinged for holding the ball after colliding with George Wardlaw.
Yeo laid a smashing tackle on Wardlaw that forced the ball to spill, with Jy Simpkin sweeping up the ball before the umpire’s whistle.
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Yeo and his Eagles teammates were left baffled by the call as the Roos slotted the game-winning goal from a set shot 45 metres out.
On Sunday, AFL umpire boss Steve McBurney backed the controversial call.
Elliot Yeo of the Eagles tackles George Wardlaw of the Kangaroos during the round 13 AFL match between West Coast Eagles and North Melbourne Kangaroos at Optus Stadium, on June 08, 2024, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images) Getty
“The rules require that if you dive on the ball or drag it back in that you must knock it clear immediately,” McBurney said.
“He (Yeo) doesn’t do that. The tackle is effective, so we say ‘holding the ball’ is the correct outcome.”
But Matthews has expressed his disappointment surrounding the call, questioning what more Yeo could have done in that situation to get rid of the ball before being tackled.
“If that is a legitimate free kick, they’ve gone too far,” Matthews said on Nine’s Footy Furnace on Sunday night.
“If that’s a free kick, the drag in, when you dive on the ball and drag it in, I understand that.
“But he (Yeo) grabbed it and he was on his knees getting up when he was tackled.
“Its just seems to me that it’s a really, really strict interpretation.”
Matthews is concerned that players will now stop going for the ball, fearing that irrespective of their intention to dispose of it quickly, they’ll always be pinged by officials.
“All of a sudden, players are now second-guessing where they’re going to go with the ball,” he said.
“Are we going to have a situation where it’s better to be the tackler, than the player with the ball in his hands?
“If you just take that Elliot Yeo incident, we’re going too far.”
The Eagles went down to the Roos by nine points, handing North Melbourne their first win of 2024.