Umpire felt threatened by Hawks players’ abuse, reveals phone call with Barrass

September 23, 2026 — 12:57pmUmpire Hayden Meyer says he “felt threatened” when Hawthorn co-captain James Sicily and defender Tom Barrass abused him after a late decision against the Hawks in Saturday’s preliminary final, but has accepted a personal apology from Barrass.Meyer has been selected to officiate in his third grand final on Saturday after making a crucial holding the ball call against Jarman Impey in the final minute of Hawthorn’s loss to Brisbane.Umpire Hayden Meyer, who made the right call in a hot moment.NineMeyer said he had accepted a sincere apology from Barrass, who rang him on Tuesday to express regret for his actions. But he is yet to hear from Sicily, who expressed his regret to Channel Seven at the Brownlow Medal count.“I felt threatened in the situation, [with] the abuse that came my way I felt threatened,” Meyer said.He said he contacted umpires boss Stephen McBurney after the game to provide his version of events, telling him that “the language and the way those two players, James and Tom, came at me, I felt threatened and intimidated in that situation”.Sicily was fined $10,000 and Barrass $5000 for their behaviour. The league’s football operations boss Greg Swann said that a financial penalty was the only sanction available in that situation, and the situation would be reviewed.James Sicily reacted furiously after the loss to the Brisbane Lions. via Getty ImagesMcBurney said the umpires were comfortable with the AFL’s response, with Meyer saying it was outside his area of responsibility to comment on whether the penalty for such an incident is adequate.He said Barrass rang him and was very sincere in expressing contrition for his actions after the siren.“He was very apologetic, and very sincere in his apology. I accepted his apology and thanked him for taking the time out of his day to give me a call,” Meyer said.He said the players’ reaction would potentially deter young people from becoming umpires in an era when recruitment was difficult. He said he had no doubt in his mind the decision was correct so he was taken aback by the Hawks’ players response, saying it would not be appropriate to relay the language directed towards him in a public forum.Sicily told Channel Seven on Monday night he should not have spoken in the way he did to Meyer.“If I had my time again, I wouldn’t have done it; that sort of stuff is obviously not play on,” Sicily said.The decision against Impey, which allowed the Lions’ Hugh McCluggage to kick a goal and regain the lead with just 18 seconds remaining, led to a poor reaction from some fans who threw bottles at the umpires as they left the arena and showered the city end of the ground with bottles and cans.Meyer said he had never experienced bottles being thrown at him post-game. He was conditioned to abuse or people reaching over the fence but not projectiles heading in his direction.“It was pretty scary, to be honest,” Meyer said.From our partners