Tom Elliott says he feels sorry for Jaidyn Stephenson.

He says the hefty penalty the Collingwood young gun received from the AFL for betting on games he played in is “too harsh”.

The 3AW Drive host said Stephenson had to be punished, given it was a clear breach of the rules, but the 22-game suspension (12 of those suspended) and $20,000 fine was too much.

He accused the AFL of hypocrisy when it came to gambling.

“The AFL, hypocritically, makes millions and millions of dollars out of sports betting,” Tom Elliott said.

“On one hand, it’s happy to take money from the sports betting agencies, on the other hand it comes down like a ton of bricks on a young footballer.”

Click PLAY below to hear Tom Elliott’s editorial

Collingwood great Tony Shaw agrees.

He said there was a clear difference between what Stephenson had done than something like match-fixing.

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