AFL Mulling Red Cards Despite CEO's Opposition

Gillon McLachlan thinks the introduction of red cards could create as many issues as it solves.GETTY IMAGES

Despite a public denouncement from Australian Football League CEO Gillon McLachlan, the league is "committed to investigating the merits of introducing a red-card rule for ugly incidents," according to Courtney Walsh of THE AUSTRALIAN. McLachlan "aired his view on the introduction of a send-off rule for callous acts" in the wake of the incident between West Coast’s Andrew Gaff and Fremantle’s Andrew Brayshaw during a "spiteful" WA Derby in August. McLachlan believes the introduction of the system could "create as many issues as it solves." But the AFL's football department, headed by Stephen Hocking, will "look into red cards." Hocking confirmed he was "wrestling with a concept that is used at lower levels of Australian rules football amid a broader review of rules and incidents" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 10/4).