A controversial free kick and 50m penalty has gifted Geelong another remarkable comeback victory at Etihad Stadium today.
Billie Smedts of the Cats is tackled by Michael Firrito and Jamie MacMillan of the Kangaroos. Source: Getty Images
NORTH Melbourne defender Michael Firrito has taken responsibility for giving away a vital 50m penalty but says he didn't hear the umpire's whistle.
The Kangaroos veteran was penalised after kicking the ball away when Geelong star Jimmy Bartel was awarded a free kick for a push in the back 40m out from goal with less than a minute remaining at Etihad Stadium.
Bartel kicked truly from the goal-line to put the Cats in front and they hung on to win by four points.
Firrito said today he had no one to blame but himself, but there were extenuating circumstances.
"I take full responsibility, it was my blue," he said today.
"It was pretty loud out there and I didn't hear the whistle, but it's not an excuse. I need to sum up the situation a little bit better.
Watch the incident in the video player above
"There was a lot of tackles in the last quarter and the umpire was letting a lot of it go, and I didn't hear anything and I just wanted to clear the area, but if I had my time again I'd certainly be holding on to that ball. It was 40m out and it pretty much gifted them the game in the end, so it's pretty disappointing.
"It wasn't an undisciplined act, even though it obviously cost us in the end. It was just a deafening roar and I couldn't hear. I'm not sure if the umpires take that into consideration but they certainly didn't in this case."
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Firrito said he "didn't get much sleep last night" as he replayed the incident in his head.
He said he hadn't yet spoken to coach Brad Scott about the incident, but expected to hear from him after giving away a 50m penalty in similar circumstances in Round 1.
"That's two in two weeks for me, pretty much on the same bit of dirt at Etihad," Firrito said.
"I'd be a fool to say it's just luck. It's happened two weeks in a row, it's something that I'm going to have to address and be really careful of."
Firrito said the players were "bitterly disappointed" to lose after establishing what appeared a match-winning lead.
"We were in a really good position, we were playing great football and we always knew the Cats were going to come out pretty hard at halftime. It's been 20 hours now but it's still that sickening feeling in your stomach, the one that got away. "
And he backed both coaches in calling for the roof to be closed at all Etihad Stadium matches.
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