MELBOURNE: League officials say an Australian Rules football umpire who sent off a player for having dangerous hair applied the rules “a little bit too broadly.”

Umpire Don Wheadon sidelined Simpson Tigers midfielder Nathan Van Someren for 15 minutes during the third quarter of a Colac and Districts Football League match against Otway Districts last weekend, saying Van Someren's spiked Mohawk hair style might poke another player in the eye.

Van Someren said he was shocked at the ruling as he had played with the hairstyle for the last three years, including during the first two quarters of the match.

Victorian Country Football League umpiring general manager Gerard Ryan said Colac umpires agreed Wheadon's application of a rule regarding dangerous items was incorrect.