THE AFL has conceded a late free kick against Gold Coast defender Mac Andrew on Saturday night should not have been paid, but the League has ticked off two other controversial calls from the weekend's action.
With Gold Coast leading by three points at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night, Andrew was penalised for an off-the-ball hold on St Kilda spearhead Max King as the pair jostled close to goal.
Stephen McBurney, the AFL's Head of Officiating, conceded on Sunday that both players were grappling and the correct decision would have been to call play on.
"(The umpire) assessed that Andrew put both arms around Max King and paid holding the man. We think looking at the full context and with the benefit of all the angles we had, we think the better call in that situation was no call," McBurney said.
"We don't think there was enough to constitute holding and we think there was significant contact both ways as they were grappling and running for position.
Despite the error, McBurney said the umpire in question will continue to officiate at AFL level, saying "he absolutely will not be dropped over a decision like this".
"We can see why the umpire has paid the free kick. It wouldn't be classified as a major error or a critical error under our assessment. It was a judgement call," he said.
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