The look on AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan’s face said it all.

With minutes left in Sunday’s clash between Essendon and Gold Coast, an inexplicable error by a goal umpire loomed as a potentially decisive call.

With the Bombers scrapping to overcome the Suns, McLachlan was caught on camera watching from the Metricon Stadium stands with a strained expression on his face.

Perhaps he was contemplating the fallout from the incident in the third quarter when a goal umpire somehow avoided even calling for a score review on a David Zaharakis set shot.

Bombers midfielder Zaharakis’s kick appeared to have gone well over the line before Sun Chris Burgess tapped it back into play.

With no reaction from the watching goal umpire, play continued, meaning no review was possible and the goal wasn’t given.

Thankfully for the official – and McLachlan – the Bombers struck two goals in the dying seconds of the match to snatch a 10-point win.

Essendon coach John Worsfold admitted the incident had left him perplexed.

“My only understanding from that is that the umpire believed it stayed in and it’s just play on,” Worsfold said.

“He didn’t call for a review because he was clear on what he saw.

“If the umpire’s made an error – I’m not sure where the rules stand around stopping the game to review something when it’s play on.

“If the ball crossed the line, it’s an error and there’s nothing we can do about it and on we go.”