Hardwick escapes fine but AFL warns Gold Coast over umpire contact

Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick has escaped a fine after his stinging criticism of umpiring in Friday night's loss to Geelong, but the AFL has warned him he'll cop a heavy financial penalty if he does it again.

AFL executive head of football Greg Swann called Hardwick directly on Monday to discuss the comments and express the league's disappointment. The conversation ended with a warning and no fine — a deliberate move away from the old 'please-explain' letters.

"I know from my experience in club land, we hated getting please-explain letters. I just think it's easier to pick the phone up and have a chat," Swann told The Age's Real Footy podcast.

Hardwick had suggested after the match that the umpiring was influenced by the raucous Geelong crowd at GMHBA Stadium. "It was like the Roman Colosseum. I reckon they [the umpires] were waiting for the crowd to do this one [thumbs down] then, all of a sudden, free kick," he said.

Speaking on Fox Footy's AFL 360 on Monday night, Hardwick said Swann was "doing his job" and acknowledged he "overstepped the mark." He added with a laugh that he's been on a "short leash for five years" and called himself a "horrible loser."

Swann said umpires are trained to ignore crowd noise and that negative commentary could deter young officials. He also called focusing on umpires "lazy journalism," noting that players make mistakes too.

But the Suns aren't out of the woods yet. Defender Daniel Rioli was cited for careless contact with an umpire and slapped with a $1500 fine. He's contesting the charge. If he loses, he'll become the fifth Suns player this season found guilty of umpire contact — triggering an AFL fine of up to $50,000 for the club.

"Gold Coast will get fined [if Rioli's charge is sustained], we've just got to work out how much that is and what it looks like," Swann said. He added that Gold Coast, GWS, and Collingwood were all told last week they had four player fines for umpire contact this season, meaning a club fine was pending if they had any further indiscretions.

The AFL can fine up to $50,000, but Swann said it would "unlikely" be that much. However, he warned there would be further fines if the club reaches six, seven, or eight offences.