Hawkins referred directly to tribunal for 'intentional' umpire contact
Geelong key forward Tom Hawkins will face the AFL tribunal after being referred directly for intentional umpire contact.
It will be a test case, with Hawkins saying his contact with field umpire Dean Margetts was accidental.
Cats coach Chris Scott said after Friday night’s match he hoped common sense would prevail.
Hawkins, 29, put his hand out as umpire Dean Margetts ran in to award a 50-metre penalty against Hawkins when he was late spoiling Giants' defender Nick Haynes.
The umpire immediately indicated to Hawkins to back off yelling: "Hey, don't touch me either" at the Cats' forward.
The rules state that a player can be sent straight to the tribunal for making intentional contact with an umpire. However, careless contact attracts a fine.
"Intentional contact with an umpire is a direct referral to the tribunal and no early plea is available to the player," the AFL said.
Scott said on Saturday that sending Hawkins directly to the tribunal could help his key forward.
"It's not a bad process sometimes just to put it up (at the tribunal) - not even put a case forward to say: 'We definitely think this requires suspension', but just to say, 'Maybe it requires a little bit more investigation'," Scott said on SEN.
"Contact with umpires is a serious matter and we shouldn't be flippant about it but, not withstanding what some people would interpret from the vision, I trust Tom implicitly and if he says he didn't deliberately do it, I believe him."
After the match on Friday night, Scott, who last week called for an end to match-day reports after Jordan Murdoch was cited, took his lead from the umpire's decision in this incident to not pay a second 50-metre penalty.
"The umpire was really clear it didn't even warrant a further 50," he said.
"If he had a problem with it, he would have paid another 50, so I think that part is pretty clear - common sense should take over at some point."
Richmond's Dustin Martin was fined $1000 in round six after making careless contact with an umpire in last Sunday's match at the MCG and Hawkins' contact appeared inadvertent.
AFL match reviewer Michael Christian also offered Hawkins a $2000 fine for rough conduct against GWS defender Nick Haynes.
"Based on the available video evidence and a medical report from the GWS Giants Football Club, the incident was assessed as careless conduct with low impact to the body. The incident was assessed as a $3000 sanction. The player can accept a $2000 sanction with an early plea," the AFL said.
Giant Adam Tomlinson can also accept a $2000 sanction for rough conduct on Geelong's Jed Bews.