Collingwood forward rubbed out for two weeks for kick to groin
External Link: Twitter AFL: CollingwoodFCW forward Sarah D'Arcy has been offered a two-game ban following this kicking incident.Related Story: Crowds flock to AFLW season opener between Blues and Magpies
Collingwood AFLW forward Sarah D'Arcy has been given a two-week suspension for kicking an opponent during Friday night's loss to Carlton.
D'arcy kicked Blues defender Sarah Hosking in the groin in the third quarter.
The incident was the first to be reviewed by the AFL's match review officer Michael Christian, who was announced to replace the Match Review Panel last year.
Christian responded to suggestions the suspension was too light, saying he had taken the impact of the kick into account.
"I thought the three-match sanction was appropriate in this situation particularly with regard to the impact," he said.
"Sarah Hosking was able to get up, obviously she was distressed, but she was able to get up, take the free kick and play on.
"So ordinarily that probably would be low impact, but I have decided to upgrade it to medium impact."
Following the match, Hosking told Channel Seven commentators the incident hurt, but did not offer any comment on what punishment the forward should receive.
"You don't want that sort of stuff to happen but we'll leave it up to the umpires and the Match Review [Panel] to deal with that," she said.
"Look it hurt I'm not going to lie, I'm just glad I'm not a boy, that's for sure. I'm sure I'll have a little bit of a bruise later."
D'Arcy, 26, has until 11:00am on Tuesday morning to accept or challenge the ban.
Christian said the short length of the AFLW season — seven rounds plus the Grand Final — did not come into his consideration.
"I don't think that just because it's a short season we need to excuse situations and actions like this," he said.
He said he would have handed down the same sanction if the incident happened in the men's game.
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