Essendon coach Matthew Knights' angry reaction to the umpiring in Sunday's loss to Melbourne has cost him and his club suspended fines from the AFL.

Knights and the Bombers were each fined $5000, with both sanctions suspended until the end of the 2011 season.

The coach glared towards the umpires at three-quarter time and also made his feelings clear at his post-match press conference, after the Bombers gave away seven goals from 50m penalties.

But Knights on Tuesday admitted he had behaved poorly and should have taken up his gripes behind closed doors.

AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said Knights' remorse was taken into account in setting the penalties.

"To his credit, Matthew has publicly acknowledged that his actions on the day of the game were inappropriate, particularly coming from a senior club leader," Anderson said.

"There is a continuing struggle to retain umpires at a community level and therefore the AFL will continue to stress the importance of appropriate behaviour towards officials at all levels of the game."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP