Gieschen says some players, aware that umpires look to protect the head at all times, are purposely ducking their heads when in possession of the ball and then running into nearby opponents.
"The players know very well that our philosophy is to protect the ball player, and to make the head sacrosanct," Gieschen said on his weekly afl.com.au show 'What's Your Decision?' on Tuesday night.
"I think what's happened now is they've realised that we will protect that area, and now they're actually taking a few liberties to put their head down in an attempt to draw (a free kick)."
The umpire boss said his department had developed guidelines to ensure they don't reward the tactic.
"The basic rule of thumb is, if a player ducks his head and he's the one that instigates all the contact, the umpire will call play on," Gieschen explained.
"Because we can't be paying free kicks against guys that are just standing their ground against players who run at them with their head down.
"However, our philosophy of protecting the head is still in place, even though a player may duck his head, if the opposition player is moving towards him or has got arms moving or legs moving and he takes him high, that will still be against (the tackler)."
Gieschen also showed exclusive behind-the-goals vision of the moments leading up to the incorrect interchange infringement paid against the Sydney Swans during their loss to Carlton on Friday night.
The vision showed three Swans players leaving the field and only two coming on, which proved Daniel Hannebery was entitled to enter the field of play when he did.
Gieschen said the interchange steward in question had been coached around how he should have handled the situation, and would be dropped for this week.
"What (the interchange steward) should have done before he alerted the emergency umpire is quickly turned his head and had a count to make sure there was four on the bench," he said.
"We're really disappointed it happened. We don't like to see free kicks paid in this situation, particularly when they're wrong."
Watch the exclusive vision, plus see Gieschen's verdict on free kicks during marking contests against Western Bulldog Will Minson and Carlton's Andrew Walker, in this week's edition of 'What's Your Decision?'
