Fremantle coach Ross Lyon wants umpires to stop relying on guess work to pay off-the-ball free kicks, saying the rub of the green has gone against his team this AFL season.

Lyon has been left seeing red on several occasions this year after watching his players being penalised for off-the-ball skirmishes they never started.

The veteran coach said a classic example was in round nine this year, when Dockers tagger Ryan Crowley was penalised for bumping into Joel Selwood after being dragged into Geelong’s interchange area by Steve Johnson.

And in Saturday’s two-point loss to the Cats, Lyon was unhappy when Fremantle defender Cam Sutcliffe was penalised for getting into a scrap with Johnson.

“Steve has the propensity to grab his opponent, take him to the ground and, hopefully, the instigator doesn’t get caught and we get pinged – and that happened with Cam Sutcliffe,” Lyon said on Wednesday.

“That cost us a goal.

“It’s when the guesses occur, like with Ryan Crowley off the ball the previous week … they’re the things that can sort of frustrate you.

“But I am certainly not an umpire basher.

“Hopefully, the rub of the green will turn at some point for us.”

Lyon says he has also been confused by ever-changing umpire interpretations, some of which happen midway through a game.

“There has been a clear shift in the second half of the year,” Lyon said.

“We played the Bulldogs (in round 11) and we got four free kicks for the match in a congested game.

“Then seven or eight weeks later, there’s 39 free kicks paid in a half.

“Then, there are shifts within games. It’s hard to get a handle on it.”