The AFL's gag on coaches commenting on umpiring to the media is only highlighting bad decisions, Sydney's Paul Roos said.

Roos's hammed Marcel Marceau routine in response to questions about decisions that went against Swans spearhead Barry Hall late in Sydney's 15-point loss to Geelong certainly got his message across.

The AFL has created forums it deems appropriate for coaches to speak about officiating, excluding press conferences, in an attempt to enhance the image of umpiring.

In a crackdown this year, two coaches and a player have been fined thousands of dollars for speaking out of turn, creating headlines.

"I haven't got the answer but certainly how it's working at the moment seems to be creating a bit more controversy," Roos said.

Coaches should be allowed to respond directly to reporters about specific incidents, Roos said.

"There is a grey area about what you can and can't say that you are very conscious of," he said.

"It would be great to actually talk to the press and say `this particular incident' or `that particular incident' but I'm not sure you can actually say that.

"There needs to be some clarification as to what you can and can't say because the last thing you want is coaches sitting in press conferences getting asked direct questions and you can't actually answer them.

"... We understand umpires make mistakes ... let's get it all out in the open and then move on."

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