The Adelaide Crows will be seeking some sort of recompense in the wake of the goal umpiring blunder that potentially cost them a finals spot.
Ben Keays snapped a goal in the dying minutes of his side’s clash with Sydney at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday night which was deemed to be a point by the officiating goal umpire.
That decision saw Matthew Nicks’ Crows lose by one point which ended their finals hopes. The goal umpire at the centre of the error has since been stood down.
Crows CEO Tim Silvers described the incident as the biggest match-day error he has seen which will prompt the club to pursue redress.
“There’s nothing specific, I must say,” he said on SEN’s Sportsday SA when asked what they will seek.
“The AFL to their credit put their hand up and owned the mistake. We’ll be coming to them and looking for some sort of redress here.
“It’s something we would like to do in a professional manner and behind closed doors. There is an impact for our footy club, no doubt.
“The ramifications for us, for the Swans, and then about three or four other teams around us is just huge.
“Because of the time and the moment, it’s probably the biggest match-day error I’ve seen in footy.”
Silvers admits it has taken some getting used to and there have been stages of grief in the wake of the controversial defeat.
“When it happened I thought that because the goal umpire seemed so confident at the time that it must have been a point,” the added.
“It wasn’t until 20 minutes after the game and even after the coach’s address there was a bit of an assumption that it was a point and then it seemed to unravel from there.
“We’ve gone through a range of emotions as a footy club and anger has been part of it, but (mainly) disappointment and frustration that human error has left us here.
“We couldn’t get it overturned and we understand why but it’s a really disappointing outcome and the footy gods aren’t smiling on us, that’s for sure.”
The Crows chief would like to see a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system, like what is used in football, introduced by the AFL in a bid to avoid similar instances in the future.
“I acknowledge the AFL put their hand up and owned the mistake, but my personal view is that we’ve just got to get better in the industry,” he said further.
“We think we’re a world-class industry, we just need to use whatever technology is available to take human error out of the equation.
“Every time there is a goal, when it takes 45 seconds until the next bounce, there is the time to review those.
“I understand there is a bit of talk that we don’t want to have any more time wastage in the game but it’s so important to get the results right.
“My kids are right into their soccer, we’ve been watching the FIFA (World Cup) and you see how the quality of VAR and how they make decisions and then bring it back.
“I think for the integrity of the comp, it is something we should look at closely.”
Crows chairman John Olsen also said on the ABC that the redress being sought could include a favourable fixture, recruiting concessions and travel allowances, among other suggestions.
A victory over the Swans would have Adelaide sitting ninth on the ladder ahead of their Round 24 clash with the 17th-placed West Coast Eagles.
However, the loss has made it mathematically impossible to qualify for finals.