Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick has been sanctioned by the AFL after he was caught on camera flipping the bird during the game on Sunday.

Hardwick was incensed when the umpires did not call a free kick for his team during the last quarter of the clash against the Giants at ENGIE Stadium.

With the Giants holding a narrow lead, Jake Stringer kicked the ball forward and into space late in the game. The ball rolled out of bounds and it was expected the umpire would pay a free kick to the Suns for insufficient intent.

However, Hardwick was shocked when the umpire signalled a throw-in and vision emerged on Monday that showed him in his coaches’ box raising his middle finger in the general direction of the umpires.

7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary revealed Hardwick has been fined $2000 for the incident, but in a twist the club are requesting that Fox Footy covers the fine.

The footage wasn’t on the initial broadcast of the match, but was aired on Monday night when Hardwick joined AFL360.

The Suns believe they shouldn’t have to pay the fine given it wasn’t on the coverage of the game.

Asked about the incident, Hardwick admitted he was shocked by the umpiring decision, but was even more shocked when Fox Footy revealed his reaction.

“I love Nathan Williamson the umpire that made the decision, I thought we’re gonna have one last crack at it so when he called boundary throw I was like ‘What? What?’,” he said.

“Anyway, oh, look ... I hope you (aren’t) — oh, no. Oh, you have too. You blokes, you’ve killed me with that.

“Oh, it was one of those ones, and look, it should have been insufficient intent, we know that. But at the end of the day, the game was dead and buried, so we move on pretty quickly.

“Although, the finger salute might get me in a bit of trouble.”

Flipping the bird has become a hot topic this year, with the AFL issuing several fines to players for the act throughout the season.

Geelong superstar Bailey Smith (twice), West Coast young gun Harley Reid and Hawthorn’s Nick Watson have all copped fines for giving the finger to fans.

Needless to say, flipping the bird at an umpire is on another level.

Hardwick apologised for the incident as soon as it was aired on Monday night.

“Dear Andrew, I’m Sorry. Kind Regards,” he tweeted, referring to AFL chief Andrew Dillon.