THE AFL confirms the Collingwood Football Club breached AFL Rule 30 regarding the use and possession of Communications devices in the Match Day Restricted Areas (MDRA) and has been fined $20,000.
During the course of the television broadcast of the match, vision was shown in the second quarter of Collingwood player Jordan De Goey (who had earlier played in the Match but by that time was injured) in the Collingwood changerooms at which time he appeared to:
(a) access a storage case used to hold mobile phones;
(b) retrieve two mobile phones from the case;
(c) provide one of the mobile phones to teammate Jeremy Howe (who had earlier played in the Match but by that time was also injured).
The AFL worked with Collingwood and determined that while both players used their phones to contact family members and/or Club staff on the status of their in-game injuries, the rules clearly state there is no mobile phone usage in the change rooms permitted by anyone who is not an authorised device carrier.
Each club is required to submit their 10 x authorised device carriers each week to the AFL and mobile use is restricted to those 10 people plus media staff.
The AFL also reminded Collingwood that the storage and security of mobile phones during a match day is a priority and the club needs to ensure all phones are securely locked away.
AFL General Counsel Andrew Dillon said the rule is clear and there was no excuse for breaching it.
“The rules, which have been in place for a long time to protect the integrity of our code, clearly state no mobile phone usage during the match. It is a rule that clubs and players have been educated about and reminded of every year,” Mr Dillon said.
“Each club has authorised device users each match day that are there, in part, for the very reason the players used their phones – to contact family members if required. The players know this, the clubs know this, and we must adhere to this very simple but important rule to continue to protect the integrity of the game.”
“The AFL would also like to acknowledge Collingwood’s cooperation with its inquiries in relation to this matter and remind all clubs of their responsibility to ensure the proper process and procedure is followed on match day and phones remain secure.”