NORTH Melbourne captain Jack Ziebell has been offered a one-match suspension for kneeing, while Blues brothers Ed and Charlie Curnow are also facing bans after being referred directly to the Tribunal on separate charges of intentional umpire contact.
Ziebell was charged following a first-quarter incident with Richmond's Reece Conca. After pinning Conca to the ground in a tackle, Ziebell lifted him slightly before dumping him back down, at which time his knee made contact with the side of the Tiger's head.
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Match Review Officer Michael Christian graded Ziebell's conduct as intentional, low impact and high contact.
WATCH: Ziebell knees Conca
Hawk James Sicily received a one-match sanction for kneeing Joel Selwood in round two and Christian said the act of kneeing was a no-go zone for players.
"I don't think there's any part for kneeing in our game," Christian said.
Ed Curnow was charged after pushing umpire Nathan Williamson lightly in the chest during the third quarter of Carlton's win over Essendon on Saturday, while younger brother Charlie made evenly lighter contact with umpire Matt Stevic's chest later in the same term as he tried to break up a scuffle between teammate Jed Lamb and Mark Baguley.
WATCH: Ed Curnow touches an umpire
Christian said making contact with umpires was unacceptable.
"We've just got to be really vigilant with the fact that, particularly in stop-play situations, the rules say that you cannot make contact with the umpire," Christian said.
"I think the message is pretty clear – you cannot make contact with an umpire.
"Even if it's light, if it's intentional contact it'll be referred directly to the tribunal and then the players and their clubs get the chance to argue their cases and it's for the determination of the Tribunal."
WATCH: Charlie Curnow makes contact with an umpire
Meanwhile, Brownlow Medal favourite Nat Fyfe was not cited over two incidents arising from Fremantle's victory over St Kilda on Saturday night: the first a bump on Saint Seb Ross and the second an incident in which the Dockers captain collected Jake Carlisle in the head with his knee, leaving the St Kilda defender concussed.
WATCH: Fyfe's high bump on Ross
Christian said he had come to the decision that the contact between Fyfe and Ross was between the Docker's shoulder and the Saint's upper chest, rather than the jaw.
"Under the provisions, as long as you bump fairly – i.e. shoulder to shoulder or shoulder to chest – and can't reasonably foresee there will be a head clash, then no charge will be forthcoming," Christian said.
The Match Review Officer noted the change in interpretation from 2011, where the player electing to bump was held responsible for the outcome even if there was a head clash.
Christian referred to the bump Fyfe laid on Gold Coast's Michael Rischitelli in 2014, which saw the Freo star receive a two-match ban, a clear change to the guidelines – which came in at the start of 2015 and continues to this day.
Christian said the "reasonably foreseen" determination when assessing these incidents was important, which led to him to make the call that Fyfe had no case to answer for his bump on Ross.
The match-day report on Roo Luke McDonald for rough conduct on Tiger Kane Lambert was thrown out.
There were seven fines announced by the AFL on Monday:
GWS spearhead Jeremy Cameron ($2000) for kneeing West Coast's Will Schofield;
Carlton midfielder Patrick Cripps ($1000) for umpire contact;
Blues forward Jed Lamb ($1500) for striking Bomber Mark Baguley;
Fremantle's Bailey Banfield and St Kilda's Jack Steven ($1000 each) for wrestling first offences;
Kangaroo forward Jarrad Waite ($2000) for striking Richmond's Jack Higgins;
Collingwood's Taylor Adams ($1500) for misconduct against Cat James Parsons.
