The AFL’s football operations manager Mark Evans says Shaun McKernan’s two-match ban for elbowing resulted from a lenient grading by the match-review panel.

The Adelaide big man’s raised-elbow hit on West Coast’s Brad Sheppard was graded as reckless rather than intentional.

North Melbourne coach Brad Scott and Geelong coach Chris Scott have both criticised the two-week suspension offered to McKernan.

Adelaide accepted the ban and the Crows’ football operations manager Phil Harper said McKernan was remorseful and thankful Sheppard wasn’t seriously hurt.

Evans, who took over the role as the league’s football boss earlier in 2013, says he’s unsure if he has the authority to step in and over-rule the panel.

“What we’ve seen in the way football has gone in recent times is we’re more judging activities that are in the negligent to reckless category rather than the intentional category,” Evans told Radio SEN on Thursday.

“Some of those more intentional incidents would be best dealt with at the tribunal if the table of offences doesn’t adequately spit out what we feel is the right outcome.

“My opinion was the grading of the McKernan incident was a little lenient.

“But the match review panel would have looked into all the angles of the vision. They spoke to the umpires.

“I accepted the match review panel would have looked into this far greater than I would have, but I would’ve felt it was slightly lenient.

“The question comes as to when should the general manager of football operations go above that and try to direct something to a tribunal.

“It’s probably something I need to seek from some of our legal guys as to whether the wording of our regulations adequately allows for me to send something to the tribunal panel if the match review panel has already graded it.”

Evans says an end-of-season review of the match-review panel’s operations will also consider how to simplify the points system and make it easier for the public to understand.