Toby Greene ordered to AFL tribunal over alleged umpire bump

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Toby Greene GWS

GWS star Toby Greene has been referred directly to the tribunal for alleged contact with an AFL official during Saturday's thrilling one-point elimination final win over Sydney.

Greene has been charged by the Match Review Panel with Intentional Umpire Contact, after the Giants midfielder allegedly bumped official Matt Stevic in a confrontation during three-quarter time of the tense final against the Swans.

It comes as a potentially cruel blow to the Giants' premiership campaign ahead of next week's semi-final encounter with the Cats.

"Toby Greene, GWS GIANTS, has been charged with Intentional Umpire Contact against Umpire Matt Stevic, during the third quarter of the Elimination Final between the Sydney Swans and GWS GIANTS, played at UTAS Stadium on Saturday, August 28, 2021," the AFL Match Review release said.
 
"In summary, he has been referred directly to the Tribunal and cannot accept an early plea.
 
"Based on the available evidence, the incident was assessed as Intentional Umpire Contact. The incident was classified as a direct referral to the Tribunal and the player cannot accept an early plea."

Vision of the alleged contact from Greene on Stevic was ambiguous, with many in AFL world claiming there wasn't enough evidence to warrant suspension.

However, a clip of the incident released by 7AFL's Twitter account shows Greene's shoulder making contact with the shoulder of Stevic, with enough force to turn the umpire's body.

Under official AFL guidelines: "Contact with an umpire that is aggressive, forceful, demonstrative, or disrespectful will be deemed intentional and the player will be directly returned to the tribunal."

Greene's poor disciplinary record has many suggesting he'll miss the clash with Geelong, with North Melbourne premiership great David King declaring the incident deserved weeks.

"I don’t think there is any way of talking around this. The umpires are a no-go zone and when you decide to walk into their path ... I think he made a calculated decision, he’s made a big error," King said on Fox Footy.

"Unfortunately, I think he’ll miss several weeks – that’s just how it sits for me. I’m not sure how you argue your way around that one.

"He knows he’s there, he walks into him, you just can’t do that. We all love him and we all want him to play, but whenever these things happen, more often than not, it’s got Toby involved.

"I feel for the Giants. Coming down from the euphoria of this win will be the reality that Toby’s made a blue."

Despite several critics believing Greene will be suspended, former St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt feels the evidence of the incident is not strong enough to convict the 27-year-old.

"Is it a shoulder bump? Is it a hand brush? It’s hard to hang him on that piece of vision, (but) I know it looks bad," Riewoldt said on Fox Footy.

"I think they’ll need another angle, and I think Matt Stevic will play a massive role in this.

"If you actually follow it through and see the context of the conversation and how it unfolds; they’re having a pretty amicable chat. Matt Stevic doesn’t look to be too disturbed afterwards."

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Ed Chisholm is a content producer for Sporting News Australia.