During a heated battle at SS Anderson Reserve on Friday evening between Port Melbourne Sharks and the Melborune Knights, referee Lachlan Keevers drew the yellow card seven times, after first having given a red to Milan Batur in the 22nd minute when he took down David Stirton in Port’s attacking third.
Batur was not the only dismissal, however, as Keevers also sent off Melbourne Knights coach Andrew Marth from the pitch in stoppage time for picking up the football and not giving it back.
In match footage seen by TCF, in the 92nd minute the referee waves away a free kick as Nikola Jurkovic is bumped off the ball by Sharks captain Shaun Kelly. The football rolls toward the sideline where it is picked up by Marth. Kelly then attempts to retrieve the ball off Marth to resume play with a throw-in. Kelly pushes Marth, who does not retaliate, the ball comes free and they separate to continue the final minute of the match. The game stops as the referee runs to immediately send Marth from the ground. Neither the nearby fourth official nor the linesman are involved in the decision.
The outcome for Marth is an official infringement from the Football Federation Victoria, having being deemed by the referee to:
- Take one step out of the technical area;
- Picking up the football as it went over the sideline;
- Not immediately giving the ball back to Shaun Kelly; and
- Being pushed by Kelly as he wanted to get the ball back.
The charge applied, under provision MP8A of the Grievance Disciplinary and Tribunal By-Laws, states ‘Expulsion from the Technical Area due to minor infringements‘, with the associated penalty being 5 penalty units ($500) and a one match automatic suspension.
TCF contacted the Melbourne Knights to understand their perspective on the situation and a club spokesman advised “the Club has received footage of the incident. At the time of publication, the Club is undecided as to which direction it will go in regards to a guilty plea or appeal”. The value of a guilty plea is relatively minor as the one match suspension isn’t reduced, only a 25% reduction in the fine down from $500 to $375. The implication of a guilty plea is it voids the option of an appeal to the tribunal. An appeal will require the Knights make the submission by 1pm next Monday and pay the lodgement fee of $275.
The Knights have time up their sleeve, however, as the one match suspension will not apply to their FFA Cup match this Friday against the Eltham Redbacks. It would come into effect for next Thursday’s Round 4 NPL fixture at Knights Stadium against FC Bulleen Lions.
The circumstances of a coach being sent off would not normally warrant such attention, however this is the first case in the NPL this year. Thus it is the first to occur under the structure of having a fourth official on the sidelines. In this instance, the official was not consulted about the decision to send Marth from the field – but nor was he required to be.
TCF recently spoke to an FFV referee assessor who said the primary reason the Federation moved to introduce the fourth official at NPL level was due to the behaviour of coaches towards the match officials.
“Last year they were totally out of control; something had to be done,” he said.
For most cases in 2016, the match official from the Under 20s curtain raiser will then serve as the fourth official for the senior match. The addition of the extra official also provides further development opportunities for the referees, particularly in a role they would not normally have exposure to.
Correction 7:20pm Wednesday 16th March:
The article above states the suspension is to be served in the next NPL fixture. This is incorrect. The suspension must be served in the next competitive match for the Melbourne Knights which is the FFA Cup match this Friday evening. The rule for this in the GDT is Section 6.3(d) stating:
Unless otherwise advised, relevant Suspensions received in the Winter Season shall also be served in the FFA Cup and Dockerty Cup, or any other applicable tournaments, and vice versa. For the avoidance of doubt: this shall not apply to Suspensions arising from an accumulation of 5, 10, 15, Yellow Cards (as the case may be), or out-of-season competitions not administered by FFV.