There are varying reports of how hard McCartney went at the umpires from people who were in the vicinity and spoke toThe Ageand theHeraldon the condition of anonymity.

By match’s end,the free-kick ledger had almost been squared,with the Dogs shading the Giants 16-15 in the statistic.

The league would not comment on Sunday morning other than to say it was aware of the situation and to stress the importance of respectful treatment of umpires.

But McCartney is almost guaranteed to be issued a “please explain” by the league,similar to the one issued to Geelong coach Chris Scott over his quarter-time run-in with the Brisbane Lions in round two.

Scott was handed a $10,000 suspended fine for his actions.

Bali bombing survivor McCartney joined the Giants from the Dogs at the end of 2017 having been instrumental in building the Dogs’ premiership-winning list in 2016 as the club’s list manager.

The Dogs-Giants rivalry has emerged in recent seasons as one of the game’s fiercest. Dogs captain Marcus Bontempelli had visible scratch marks on him in a television interview after the game on Friday night but Christian did not lay any charges from the match.

GWS declined to comment on Sunday,pending the result of an AFL investigation.