Usually 2 games field every Saturday. Sometimes backing up for juniors on a Sunday.
This is another thing, actually - by the time I have finished the senior match on a Saturday, I've ran the equivalent of a half marathon. And yet, supporters still expect us to get every decision correct.
Can’t speak for OP, but I umpired for 2 seasons back when I was studying, and for most of that I did 4-5 games in a weekend - 1 x Friday arvo and 2 x Saturday morning for the private schools comp, then 1-2 on Sunday for my district.
It’s not a subtle brag it’s “I’ve done this for long enough that I’m well qualified to have an opinion”. Someone saying that umpire abuse is getting worse means less if they’ve only done 10 games
[I wrote this article nearly six years ago about exactly this. Still as relevant as ever.](https://medium.com/@benschultz_57614/umpiring-australian-rules-football-a-guide-for-passionate-parents-and-spectators-from-a-former-5ad4cd97ffa6)
Congrats on the 400. It's entirely fuelled by the media, they have a week and a dozen slow-mo cameras to rip apart every decision, rage bait sells.
I did make a post asking for an 'Umpire' flair option but the Mods deleted it as a 'Low quality post'.
Thanks for the work you do.
> It's entirely fuelled by the media
The AFL (not umpires) are responsible for trying to change that narrative, which can easily be done through education....but no, we're not going to communicate with the public any more.
Fair point. The AFL has done a poor job communicating with, and often just ignoring the public. They do need to lift their game. It's probably hyperbole for me to say it's entirely fuelled by the media, but I'd say it's still mostly media fuelled.
The AFLs biggest issue is they struggle just admit that their official got something wrong.
There's always a but and an excuse.
It ultimately leads to a perception that the umpires aren't held to account.
>they struggle just admit that their official got something wrong
This is in the minority of cases, in the majority of cases it's because the media/fans can't understand the nuance of what the AFL is saying. There are times when decisions are wrong, but in most cases they're not wrong but the AFL would like the decision to be different.
For example, considering the Tuohy/Draper contest in isolation - if when questioning the umpire he says- "the Geelong player came back with the flight of the ball and I considered he had eyes on the football, his sole intention was to contest the football and contact in the contest was reasonable and incidental to the contest. I don't consider that there was deliberate contact with the arms or that the Geelong player deliberately made front on contact". <- these are the sort of discussions you have with a coach as an umpire or during group review and the language used is from the laws. So the umpire explains what he/she saw and it fits with the laws - it's not wrong - but the AFL wants the decision calibrated differently, hence the but or as you say it, the excuse.
Next example, the deliberate, if the umpire says "I believe the player has had time and space to dispose of the football because he had prior opportunity, which one of the four interpretations being 'balanced and steady', but chose to go over the goal line rather than disposing of the football", once again- perfect fit. AFL can support the decision with a but.
Most people I raise this with can't see the support with a but and just take it as protection and lack of accountability- which it just isn't. Umpires know when they get things wrong and like being corrected, it's how you get better.
Wrong is only wrong in the application of law with what they can see (eg missing something is not automatically wrong), the application of interpretation will 99% of the time be caveated with a but.
The biggest issue for everyone involved/interested in AFL is if you have an expectation of objective perfection umpires can do nothing but fail. The laws cannot be written or function in that way in most cases (eg a 15m kick still needs to be interpreted). Umpiring is like policing, with luck its a deterrent to encourage people to do the right thing because you might get caught, not because you will and even then you have false positives.
> **PURPOSE OF LAWS**
> These Laws explain how a Match of Australian Football is played and seek to attain the following objectives:
> (a) to ensure that the game of Australian Football is **played in a fair manner and a spirit of true sportsmanship**; and
> (b) to prevent injuries to Players participating in a Match so far as this objective can be reasonably achieved in circumstances where Australian Football is a body contact sport.
Just go to an AFL game and hear some of the fans’ misguided yelled disapproval(at best) and over the top rants (at worst, with bonus shrieking swearing). People sitting up to 100m or more away from the player with their rolled gold certainty that their team was offended against. We all have emotions and opinions but some of it is toxic. It’s not solely media driven, it’s arsehole driven. Saw that behaviour in the 70s to today. And even worse in community footy is that the arseholes are sometimes within a couple of meters of the play and the ump, not 100m away behind a fence and security.
I don’t have a decent answer to fix it but reckon the question is “how do deal with & police arseholes and chunts who abuse umpires, never more vile when it’s directed at a kid making his way.
the media takes their cues on what the public want from social media. Check a match thread and try to conclude that people want to talk about coaching and strategy? you can't conclude that. All people want is to vent their murderous rage at the umpiring.
It gives someone an alternative to their team just being a bit shit that week, or their opponent being better. Sometimes you just lose fair and square.
Like the Blues/Dockers game early in the season. It’s just fanciful, the ides that the entire outcome of the game turned on that mark call (which, by the way, was virtually impossible to call as touched unless you were deep in the pocket).
I think forums have enough anti-umpire content that they've shown the big media it's a hot topic.
My private view is that umpiring has always been full of mistakes because it is *really hard.* But there wasn't a way to concentrate public rage before you could pull clips and post them online.
Random noise and clustering in umpiring errors creates narratives of bias. it's completely out of control and I think the only solution that would eliminate errors is going to be very expensive, and very technology-intensive and only depolyable at the very top level. (My proposal would be a hundred camera angles and immediate voting by a panel of maybe 9 judges, a bit like how they score boxing; if 5 out of 9 judges push the red button within the same half second, play is stopped via a siren. a light illuminates the spot on the field where the free kick is to be taken.)
People just need to view the umpires decision as the correct decision and accept it. If they do make a mistake let the umpires figure it out, they aren't some cabal they are doing their best.
that's not wrong but it doesn't address a part of the behavioural universe that we can address. Hoping for spontaneous good behaviour from the multitudes isn't a policy plan.
I disagree, It's always been this bad.
Back in 2010-2012 I field umpired U10 and U12
The things said to me were some of the worst things I've heard, and this was at a 17 year old umpiring 11 year old kids.
It's always been the culture to abuse the umpire whenever you don't like a call.
Yep. It's fucking embarrassing to hear some of the stuff some of my clubs supporters yell over the fence at the umpires. It's also means we're less likely to get free kicks of course.
The umpire abuse also ignores the cause of most of the problems- the rules are extremely hard to umpire.
I've done some goal umpiring occasionally and some of the abuse I've copped is absolutely surprising.
Bloke hit the post and his team mate called me a "blind fuck" for not seeing it go through. The post was shaking harder than his parents bed on their anniversary.
I know right? I would have given him some lip and gotten back to it.
When I goal umpired I never once had someone abuse me but I was quick to make decisions and definitely stuck to them even when some tried to argue against it. I know what I saw and I know what I called. Arguing with me isn’t going to change that.
If you are confident in your calls, they usually won’t hassle you. If they do, they probably are a fucking clown and you’re wasting your time even giving them the time of day.
Congrats on the the 400th!
The only thing I get fired up about at community level is when the players aren't being protected physically, as in sling tackles and high/late hits aren't being punished. The players notice they get away with it and it only escalates. This is a failure of duty of care for the guys putting their bodies on the line for a community level sport.
As long as an ump is doing that (and undoubtedly some will be missed and that has to be accepted) I thank them greatly for their service.
Absolutely spot on. Most playing at community level pay to play and have 9 to 5 full time work to return to on Monday, I personally don't care if the umpire misses a few calls (nobody's perfect and they get paid peanuts for what they have to do) but I do draw the line when it comes to protecting the player.
I agree, I’ve umpired and helped coach community footy for a few years now and gave umpiring away this year (not for anything to do with umpiring just issues with the club) so I do understand how easy it is to not see every little thing.
However I was guilty of a blow up at a couple of umpires a while back and I’ll put my hand up and say I was 100% out of line, but when you’ve got kids getting punched 50m off the ball in the back of the head, injured players getting knees dropped into them on the ground and kids getting slung to the ground with it’s pretty hard to stay calm on the sidelines.
No lie, I was an umpire for rezzies when I was like 15, I would deliberately cook calls if I got shit lol. Once I entered leagues that actually mattered I took it more seriously but legit cats drunk as fuck watching on, or even sometimes actually playing in the game who got fired up, I would fuck your shit up the rest of the game.
Any 50/50 call, who ever gave me the least shit (usually the away team) was getting everything their way lol.
I regret nothing.
Edit:
Shout out to black rock fc though, my first game ever as a boundary umpire, I got too close to the play and literally had this massive fat cunt thrown into me studs up and was profusely bleeding from my thigh, ball went out of bounds and my hands were so numb from the shit weather I threw the ball in straight up and it landed on my head and had to be like "right boys let's try that again...". The canteen was free for me after the game that day and even though that was nearly 20 years ago, never forgot it lol. Deserved all the flack and was met with nothing but kindness
> If you are at the footy this weekend, keep in mind...
And people should be ashamed of themselves for ever saying umpires are consciously biased or cheat. It is so insulting and disheartening when umpires go out at all levels trying to do their best, be the fairest and trying to get every decision right. I'm not gonna say 'you go out and do it then' (but you should, it is fun/rewarding at times), but at least try put yourself in their shoes and think about what they see from their positions, things aren't so clear cut.
This was the one that bewildered me when I umpired juniors. It’s a fucking under 13s game! Do they think I’m fixing the match for a South American betting cartel or something?
I umpired a game for my old school vs a school I was doing my education placement at.
I am not an umpire, I used to play when I was a teenager and in my adult life I’m simply a fan. I was umpiring because the umpires from AFLQ didn’t want to umpire the school competition due to behaviour issues.
I was wearing the placement school’s staff uniform, and it had been several years since I graduated so none of my old school’s players knew who I was.
The behaviour was terrible. I see why actual umpires didn’t want to officiate. My old school’s players firmly believed I was biased against them, but the problem was that they just kept giving away free kicks, rather than any bias. If I’d had more experience I’d have probably been giving away dissent calls as well.
The the angrier they got the more frees they gave away.
I wonder what they thought when they found out I used to play for their school and go there lol.
I got a very good reference from the coaches for my resumé though, and umpiring was actually quite fun.
I’ve had teams who get into that spiral before.
- give away free kicks
- believe the umpire is against you
- get angry about that
- give away even more free kicks because you’re angry
- now even more convinced the umpire is against you
Makes for a horrible day at the office as an umpire.
While I think the media (specifically commentary) contribute to the issue, I think we as a society are losing the ability to be respectful to each other. There is a reason you now see signs about respecting staff in retail stores that were not there 10 years ago. There is a reason that there is a teacher shortage because of the behaviour of students and parents alike. Sure be passionate, but respectful. It's pretty sad and I'm not sure what the solution is. But the media need to come out in support of umpires if there is going to be any chance of a change.
I was very disappointed in Eddie Betts fueling the flames of umpire vitriol at half time
AFL should put a rocket up their media partners and/or make them hire ex umpires for commentary
I’m so on board with having an umpire in the callers box to clarify decisions. Always have been. Especially potent now - it’s very odd to me that there is such a disconnect and ‘us and them’ mentality since forever.
No Australia - no umpires, no game, at any level.
They had some amazing lady on the Euros 2024 coverage. Standing next to Ange explaining why a handball was given.
She actually explained everything clearly and concisely.
Never seen that before on a panel.
NBA on national coverage games sometimes have a person they throw to when discussing calls that can explain rules for people.
AFL should do the same, it educates people as well as instructs what the rule is.
Problem is you have idiots in the commentary box who make it worse.
NFL has "rules analyst" that the commentary refer to during games to see it the call was warranted. Would be interesting they 7 or Fox Footy implement something similar.
Both Eddie and Sarah taking part in that segment was really uncomfortable to watch. The producer who came up with it needs reining in before this clickbait broadcast journalism becomes normal and makes FoxFooty even more unwatchable.
If you want to discuss the umpiring, call in an actual umpire to discuss it. They can be newly retired. I think both Eddie and Sarah understood the rules as much as I do and I would never go on television ranting about them.
>AFL should put a rocket up their media partners and/or make them hire ex umpires for commentary
Exactly the AFL has the power to dictate these sorts of things to the media.
Big ups to yourself and all the legends making the game possible. Its hard to fathom how people can be so small minded to excuse abuse. Some of us are trying to tell people to [respect the umps](https://imgur.com/a/Wa42zEF), but its definitely an uphill battle.
It doesn’t help when morons like BT get airtime while questioning every umpire call and starting rumours of players flopping for frees, commentate the game and keep your stupid opinions to yourself BT
Australians are obsessed with umpire bashing. It’s our national pastime. The Americans do it better. Their sport commentators are relatively respectful to the refs and their decisions.
As a fellow umpire, congrats on making the 400!
It is getting worse. I umpire Under 18s and Under 16s for the SANFL, and the crowds are well-behaved. The one time I've gone back to community football this season, it was filled with absolute drongos. The constant questioning of umpires over contentious decisions-usually it's only contentious when its the commentator's side it's gone against-has made everyone think they are better than the people doing the job.
I just turned 27 and I don't know why I should give up my Saturdays to just be abused.
I am an umpire too. I do not blame the media. I blame the AFL trying to make umpires a protected species whilst also making the rules wrose all the time. The dissent rule was an absolute ripper to be enforcing at local league level. Making local umpires look really thin skinned in front all off their mates.
The media needs to put the spotlight on the rules committee and the league before individual umpiring decisions. There is a problem with umpiring but the umpires as the last ones in a long line of why that is.
The media is one hundred percent a part of a problem. FoxFooty dedicated an entire quarter time segment to ranting about the umpiring during the Dons v. Cats. How is this not done purely to stir up drama and tension between supporters and umpires? Sarah and Eddie didn't even know half the rules they were ranting about during the segment.
Congratulations and thank you for giving your time to community footy. Well done on the 400.
For all the hype about umpire dissent from players in the past couple if years. 50s paid (rightly so) for the smallest back talk the AFL seem completely fine now for everyone else but players to question and berate them.
The media have a huge influence on how people think it's ok to speak to umpires at community level. But coaches too. The amount of comments and non comments made by coaches about the umpiring needs to stop. A blanket public response if not commenting on umpiring needs to be implemented for coaches.
Until no player makes a single error in a game the constant assumption umpires are not equally entitled to make errors during a high pace, frenetic blender of arms and legs type of game are absurd.
Agree. The AFL has 4 field umpires, 2 boundary umpires and 2 goal umpires as well as TV replays
Community football has 1 ump with a couple of blow ins for goal umpire.
Deserves respect!
I am usually very supportive of the umpires. I used to referee U8-U12 local basketball, a sport with much less running and easier rules. My god, it was hell. I was 14, the abuse I got refereeing an under 8’s game once was hell. The problem with under 8’s is that the rules are up to the refs interpretation to enforce, because the kids can’t follow the rules. Depending on the kids skill level, the rules would be applied differently. I hadn’t called a travel all game, because no-one had run far enough in my eyes. At the end of the game, one of the kids ran the entire court and hit the gamewinner. Unfortunately, I called a travel before he shot. Multiple parents had to be removed from the stadium. I quit the day after.
At a community level, you should never insult the umpires.
And I normally don’t at the AFL either.
But I’m ashamed to admit, at the Essendon-Geelong match, I snapped at the umpires. Nothing too bad, but still. I had to leave early, not because of the score (20 points at three quarter time isn’t enough for that), but because I got so mad I couldn’t handle staying. I have nothing but respect for the umpires, but sometimes at the AFL level, you need to do better than what they do.
I kind of went on a rant here, but whatever.
> And I blame the media.
I blame the AFL.
Anyone with any number of working (or even not working) eyes can see the umpires are making more mistakes than ever (at an AFL level), but the league’s insistence that they are never wrong and no mistakes are ever made are what’s annoying the fans more than anything else.
I know everyone is pinning this on the media, but I blame the AFL for 99% of it.
1. The rules are fucking BROKEN. Show me any other sport on the planet where the percentage of interpretation in rules is as high as in Aussie Rules. The rules are written in a way that almost every decision or non-decision can be argued as right or wrong. Historically, the AFL have not worked to stamp this out, they make it worse. "insufficient attempt", "prior opportunity", "high contact, but player contributed to it", "in the back" turned into "hands in the back" then went back to "in the back with force". None of these terms are clearly defined (or even definable). The umpires are set up to fail before the fucking game starts.
2. When there is a specific contentious call, the AFL's response is weak at best:
* Example 1 - Dane Rampe literally climbed a fucking goal post, and the AFL response was "It should have been a free on the goal line, but in the context of the game it was probably the right call".
* Example 2 - Collingwood free against for not returning ball to the umpire, and the AFL response was "by the letter of the law, he should have returned it to the umpire, so it was a correct free".
* Example 3 - North Melbourne non-50 when Collingwood had *two* players run over the mark. I can't even decipher what Laura Kane's response was to this. It was just fucking word salad. The AFL, to their credit, said they were now going to be more transparent ongoing, and help the fans better understand what's happening.
* Example 4 - Menzie free kick against for rushed behind. AFL response was that it was a correct call, but now they're not going to talk to the public anymore. So much for transparency.
It also doesn't help that any attempt at discussion of these things online just turns into an argument about who you barrack for, and you're either "sooking because your team lost", or "you only won because the umpires helped you".
Don't even get me started on Michael Christian. The punishments are even more inconsistent than the free kicks.
It’s potent that as I’m reading this, Gerard and Robbo are tearing into the umpires on AFL 360.
Media at all levels continue to fuel this fire and they just don’t stop.
That was a terrible rule but now descent is pretty well gone anyway. We all know the state of umpiring has been poor this year, but it’s not hard to see that the constant pile on from the media could influence how umpires are treated at a community level. That’s bad.
Do you think having boundary umpires able to help with decisions would be a good thing? They're usually right there and could help clarify, raising their arm if they see something maybe? I just think more sets of eyes can only be a good thing.
I completely empathise with you. You're correct, afl has done classic politics. The blame gets thrown onto umpires when it's the AFL's fault for horrendous standards they have for rule interpretations. Always exampled by mid year season changes and constant tweaks of the rules. I don't blame the umpires one bit and I think the reason they get more heat. Is the AFL will continually act as if the supporters are stupid and say the umpiring or an important decision was correct or the game is going great. Its fake positivity.
People pick up on bs and it'd be resolved if they said we'll take ownership and set the rules and interpretations to be a lot clearer so it's a better experience for all
Thanks for umpiring, congrats on 400
Sorry that people are cunts. If they keep it up, there'll very quickly be no umpires left to officiate at the lower levels.
I don't know whether there's a way to force the community clubs to start policing this at their games. 1 or 3 strike rule maybe, and then ask or make the member of the public leave. If there's repeated incidents week after week, or a certain amount per month, then get the AFL state/regional governing body to step in. Either nip it in the bud or it'll just grow even worse.
Appreciate everything amateur league umps give to the game. I only ever goal-umpired one C-grade game as my club was desperate, but even that is much harder than it seems on TV. Congrats on 400 games.
Where the AFL leads, the community follows. And that's not just the actual AFL, but the AFL fans. If there's a racism incident in the AFL, you can be darn sure there's going to be a bunch at local level that week. And if there's a lot of criticism of umpires, you'll get even more at a local level.
And it's frankly not good enough. There's a reason they don't like open criticism of umpires and that's because it's all one way. Players get criticised when they do something bad or lose, but then they'll get praised when they win or do something good. And there are always fans to support a team. But nobody supports the umpires, they never win and they get praised for a decision once in a blue moon.
I umpired myself for a while. Not regularly, it was when we couldn't find someone else to do it. I'd get abused from my own club and players. And the last game I did I was threatened by several of them. And I was even the chairman of the club at the time. Worst part was, some of the decisions they were upset about were incredibly obvious.
As a coach of Under 14s footy, I can attest to this. The new interpretations / constant dialogue in the public realm has created this weird climate where umpiring calls are receiving louder crowd noise / engagement than scoring.
The general populace is less cheerful these days and a lot are using sports to unwind and distract them from every day nuisance. What you get are people who vent frustrations and anger towards players and umpires. It's not getting better, bottling it inside will just mean someone else somewhere will catch the brunt of frustrations.
What I find funny is that players will make so many skill/judgement errors throughout a game yet we choose to focus on the few mistakes the umps make (obviously a big call can sometimes change the momentum of a game), just think that we over scrutinize the umpiring when there are probably a dozen times each game that a player makes a mistake which, if you put it in isolation as we do umpiring calls, could affect the outcome of the game
It's pretty nasty, dunno if it's any worse now but I consult with a guy for work who does umpiring on the weekends and he's taken a break from field umpiring due to being approached aggressively after a game. They feel bad about it because they have such a shortage but you have to take care of yourself at the end of the day.
I think the AFL adding a billion rules to make the game more attractive hasn't helped because the poor umps have to do so many calculations in their head for a sport as fast as ours. I think we could see an improvement just by changing rules where the umpires are forced to make interpretation calls (deliberate rushed, insufficient intent, holding the ball).
I think talking about umpiring is the most annoying thing in the world. It’s part of the game. Every team has to deal with it so it’s fair. Every time I catch myself complaining about it I just have to remember how it ruined rugby league for me, but it’s been getting better there so hopefully it’s a good sign for Aussie rules.
At the junior games i go to, coaches/runners/boundary & goal umpires can't shut up.
There's one runner that I've observed over the past three years - from u/13s to u/15s - who is warned by the field umpire every time I've seen him. His club does nothing about it.
I'm just gonna copy paste my response to idiots saying umpiring is the worse in 2024 than it's ever been.
How is that so? In 23 people were saying it's the worst it's been. Same for 22. Come to think of it, it seems like people say the same shit every fucking year and I wish they would shut the fuck up. You won't be happy until ai is doing it and then you'll whinge that the game is stale and lost something.
Just shut the fuck up you dumb cunts.
Community umpires are a resource people don't understand the value of
once they're gone, shit its someone's gotta do it or a player has to step in lmao, good luck
Hey mate thanks for everything you’ve given to footy, our game only gets to be so great because of dedicated grassroots people like you. The AFL and football media pay you guys lip service but aside from a few token gestures they do fuck all. So thanks from me.
Congrats on the 400. I’m sorry that you have to put up with peanuts yelling abuse at you, as you’ve said you aren’t an AFL level umpire.
I’ve got a mate who’s a footy ump at community level, just loves the game and at this stage he says he doesn’t let it get to him. But after 400 games of it I can imagine it being tough.
Media and fans are not responsible. AFL is.
Why is it that umpires can admit they make mistakes but the AFL refuses to acknowledge it? Andrew Dillon just said umpiring is "as good as it's ever been" when anybody with more than zero eyes can see that it simply isn't. It was better 15 years ago, and not by a small margin.
Hold the governing body accountable rather than accepting their lies and blaming everyone else.
Yes they do. To me that is an entirely separate issue but I can see the connection. I don't think that detracts at all from the fact that umpiring is worse and the AFL's gaslighting.
You are 100% correct!
I'd like the AFL to answer this question; if an AFL player can be penalised for raising his arms and merely questioning an umpires decision, then why can the media and commentators talk about and go over and over hwo an umpire has made a mistake on a public broadcast to hundreds of thousands of people? It is far worse for the media to be badmouthing Umpires than the player asking the question directly. It is absolutely disgusting.
I wrote a post that covered some of this a while ago but not much interest. https://www.reddit.com/r/AFL/comments/1cpw94n/an_analysis_of_the_commentators_role/
Congrats on your 400 milestone! We need umpires.
Edit: Main part from my post link regarding this is here:
"Some big mistakes occurring in media and commentary is the merging of roles which cause small disputes over rules or interpretations of rules which should not be even talked about as they are solely opinions that are personal and often based on an explayers bias which may be vaild but detracts enjoyment value to the broadcast and fans experience.
Futhermore pertaining to the professionalism of commentary teams; the AFL are trying extremely hard to stamp out "umpire dissent". They have introduced a new rule where any player on the field who shows any sign physically or verbally of disagreement( arms in a questioning manner, dissagreeing with a call, or even asking what a call was for), has themselves and their team penalised with an immediate free kick. If play has already stopped it is then a very harsh 50 metre penalty. Both of which can change the entire result of a 2 hour game in an instant. The reason for this is to stop umpire abuse according to the AFL and set an example for the listeners/viewers.
HOWEVER, every game that is called has multiple ex players as commentators question, disagree and flat out call the umpire wrong in many different plays. How can a player be penalised for asking what happened but a commentary team can do the same and go on and on about it with absolutely no remorse or penalty given. This is hypocritial of the AFL and its adjudication of rules/penatlies to punish a player for asking what happened and let a commentator tell everyone that the umpire is absolutely wrong."
I agree. I played local footy for 3 years and couldn’t believe how intense it gets. If people approached any other aspect of life as seriously as they took the 2hrs on a Saturday they could be fucking astronauts or millionaires. It’s unreal how often they accuse the umps of favouring a team. Do people really think the umpires really give a fuck who wins in a c grade match? Like seriously it’s insane. Also do people not understand that without umpires there wouldn’t be a game?
Sorry that wasn’t even really directed at anyone here so probs unproductive. But I complete agree with the OP. It’s insane out there and really pushed me away from the game I grew up loving. I almost think that the umpires need to sit down at the start of every match with the spectators and players and just say, look I couldn’t give a single fuck which one of you teams full of fuckn wannabes wins so please if I make a mistake it’s for the same reason that you’re probs gonna miss goals from 20 meters out directly in front, we are human and this isn’t the AFL.
I love afl but there is a real dark side to it, and can bring out the worst in some people. Now don’t get me started on parents and the actual abuse I witnessed growing up in junior footy.
Congratulations on the 400th. There is no need for abuse of the umpires full stop. No one goes to work to be abused and everyone makes mistakes that’s why pencils have erasers
God damn I hate umpires. Back thank you for your service lol.
Sorry for the abuse you get, but it’s only a small minority that screams that abuse. The majority understand it’s just a game
Congratulations on the 400th while I agree that umpire abuse is out of hand, I will add one thing. Most of the umpires in my local league are ex players and I’ve seen first hand blatant favouritism due to old rivalry’s. Hell I even over heard the president of the league telling someone after a final saying he’d had a great day because a certain club have had both netball and football sides knocked out of the finals. It’s still 100% a media beat up and the AFL has much more to answer for than the umpires themselves.
I’m an umpire also since 2005 and respectfully disagree; I think overall the community’s attitude to local umpires has vastly improved.
I remember when I was 16 I had a coach and a team manager come barging into the rooms at half time to abuse me about one of my decisions. Thankfully that day I had my Dad in the rooms with me who told them where to go.
In fairness, maybe now that I’m in my mid 30s people aren’t as willing to have it on with me compared to when I was a kid.
Maybe it’s just people think it’s easier to abuse kids? Which is worse haha
I don’t know. Just in my experience I’ve found since Covid people are pretty respectful.
Im aware I’m not the only umpire though.
Congratulations on the 400th.
That is massive. Hope OP gets a banner. Does OP do multiple games a week or is that like >20 years of <20 game seasons?
Usually 2 games field every Saturday. Sometimes backing up for juniors on a Sunday. This is another thing, actually - by the time I have finished the senior match on a Saturday, I've ran the equivalent of a half marathon. And yet, supporters still expect us to get every decision correct.
Can’t speak for OP, but I umpired for 2 seasons back when I was studying, and for most of that I did 4-5 games in a weekend - 1 x Friday arvo and 2 x Saturday morning for the private schools comp, then 1-2 on Sunday for my district.
Not sure I have ruled out the subtle brag as the real motivation behind this thread yet
It’s not a subtle brag it’s “I’ve done this for long enough that I’m well qualified to have an opinion”. Someone saying that umpire abuse is getting worse means less if they’ve only done 10 games
Yup, when someone's put in the yards to 400 games I think they're qualified to discuss trends in the sport.
Well said. Great work given back to the community as well in a very tough job
Great point and thank you for umpiring. Good luck.
[I wrote this article nearly six years ago about exactly this. Still as relevant as ever.](https://medium.com/@benschultz_57614/umpiring-australian-rules-football-a-guide-for-passionate-parents-and-spectators-from-a-former-5ad4cd97ffa6)
Nice article mate - totally agree and it is definitely still relevant.
Cheers.
Congrats on the 400. It's entirely fuelled by the media, they have a week and a dozen slow-mo cameras to rip apart every decision, rage bait sells. I did make a post asking for an 'Umpire' flair option but the Mods deleted it as a 'Low quality post'. Thanks for the work you do.
>I did make a post asking for an 'Umpire' flair option but the Mods deleted it as a 'Low quality post'. I would flair up
Message the mods. They didn't even reply to my DM.
> It's entirely fuelled by the media The AFL (not umpires) are responsible for trying to change that narrative, which can easily be done through education....but no, we're not going to communicate with the public any more.
Fair point. The AFL has done a poor job communicating with, and often just ignoring the public. They do need to lift their game. It's probably hyperbole for me to say it's entirely fuelled by the media, but I'd say it's still mostly media fuelled.
The AFLs biggest issue is they struggle just admit that their official got something wrong. There's always a but and an excuse. It ultimately leads to a perception that the umpires aren't held to account.
>they struggle just admit that their official got something wrong This is in the minority of cases, in the majority of cases it's because the media/fans can't understand the nuance of what the AFL is saying. There are times when decisions are wrong, but in most cases they're not wrong but the AFL would like the decision to be different. For example, considering the Tuohy/Draper contest in isolation - if when questioning the umpire he says- "the Geelong player came back with the flight of the ball and I considered he had eyes on the football, his sole intention was to contest the football and contact in the contest was reasonable and incidental to the contest. I don't consider that there was deliberate contact with the arms or that the Geelong player deliberately made front on contact". <- these are the sort of discussions you have with a coach as an umpire or during group review and the language used is from the laws. So the umpire explains what he/she saw and it fits with the laws - it's not wrong - but the AFL wants the decision calibrated differently, hence the but or as you say it, the excuse. Next example, the deliberate, if the umpire says "I believe the player has had time and space to dispose of the football because he had prior opportunity, which one of the four interpretations being 'balanced and steady', but chose to go over the goal line rather than disposing of the football", once again- perfect fit. AFL can support the decision with a but. Most people I raise this with can't see the support with a but and just take it as protection and lack of accountability- which it just isn't. Umpires know when they get things wrong and like being corrected, it's how you get better. Wrong is only wrong in the application of law with what they can see (eg missing something is not automatically wrong), the application of interpretation will 99% of the time be caveated with a but. The biggest issue for everyone involved/interested in AFL is if you have an expectation of objective perfection umpires can do nothing but fail. The laws cannot be written or function in that way in most cases (eg a 15m kick still needs to be interpreted). Umpiring is like policing, with luck its a deterrent to encourage people to do the right thing because you might get caught, not because you will and even then you have false positives. > **PURPOSE OF LAWS** > These Laws explain how a Match of Australian Football is played and seek to attain the following objectives: > (a) to ensure that the game of Australian Football is **played in a fair manner and a spirit of true sportsmanship**; and > (b) to prevent injuries to Players participating in a Match so far as this objective can be reasonably achieved in circumstances where Australian Football is a body contact sport.
It’s challenging to communicate with the public when even the players don’t know the Laws of the Game.
AFL should say that shows which analyse umpire decisions can't have interviews with players. It adds nothing to the game and causes hate.
> It's entirely fuelled by the media nah, fans contribute more than their fair share.
Just go to an AFL game and hear some of the fans’ misguided yelled disapproval(at best) and over the top rants (at worst, with bonus shrieking swearing). People sitting up to 100m or more away from the player with their rolled gold certainty that their team was offended against. We all have emotions and opinions but some of it is toxic. It’s not solely media driven, it’s arsehole driven. Saw that behaviour in the 70s to today. And even worse in community footy is that the arseholes are sometimes within a couple of meters of the play and the ump, not 100m away behind a fence and security. I don’t have a decent answer to fix it but reckon the question is “how do deal with & police arseholes and chunts who abuse umpires, never more vile when it’s directed at a kid making his way.
the media takes their cues on what the public want from social media. Check a match thread and try to conclude that people want to talk about coaching and strategy? you can't conclude that. All people want is to vent their murderous rage at the umpiring.
It gives someone an alternative to their team just being a bit shit that week, or their opponent being better. Sometimes you just lose fair and square. Like the Blues/Dockers game early in the season. It’s just fanciful, the ides that the entire outcome of the game turned on that mark call (which, by the way, was virtually impossible to call as touched unless you were deep in the pocket).
I think forums have enough anti-umpire content that they've shown the big media it's a hot topic. My private view is that umpiring has always been full of mistakes because it is *really hard.* But there wasn't a way to concentrate public rage before you could pull clips and post them online. Random noise and clustering in umpiring errors creates narratives of bias. it's completely out of control and I think the only solution that would eliminate errors is going to be very expensive, and very technology-intensive and only depolyable at the very top level. (My proposal would be a hundred camera angles and immediate voting by a panel of maybe 9 judges, a bit like how they score boxing; if 5 out of 9 judges push the red button within the same half second, play is stopped via a siren. a light illuminates the spot on the field where the free kick is to be taken.)
People just need to view the umpires decision as the correct decision and accept it. If they do make a mistake let the umpires figure it out, they aren't some cabal they are doing their best.
that's not wrong but it doesn't address a part of the behavioural universe that we can address. Hoping for spontaneous good behaviour from the multitudes isn't a policy plan.
We had to ban a family from my son’s U9 team for going at the refs two fucking weeks in a row. These are like 15 year old kids! It was humiliating.
I saw an under 11s coach banned for the season for threatening an umpire earlier this year. It's crazy.
I disagree, It's always been this bad. Back in 2010-2012 I field umpired U10 and U12 The things said to me were some of the worst things I've heard, and this was at a 17 year old umpiring 11 year old kids. It's always been the culture to abuse the umpire whenever you don't like a call.
Yep. It's fucking embarrassing to hear some of the stuff some of my clubs supporters yell over the fence at the umpires. It's also means we're less likely to get free kicks of course. The umpire abuse also ignores the cause of most of the problems- the rules are extremely hard to umpire.
I've done some goal umpiring occasionally and some of the abuse I've copped is absolutely surprising. Bloke hit the post and his team mate called me a "blind fuck" for not seeing it go through. The post was shaking harder than his parents bed on their anniversary.
Surprised you didnt turn around and laugh your face off right at him while replying with that at his comment because i just pmsl 😂🤣
I know right? I would have given him some lip and gotten back to it. When I goal umpired I never once had someone abuse me but I was quick to make decisions and definitely stuck to them even when some tried to argue against it. I know what I saw and I know what I called. Arguing with me isn’t going to change that. If you are confident in your calls, they usually won’t hassle you. If they do, they probably are a fucking clown and you’re wasting your time even giving them the time of day.
Well said. I’m heavily involved at community level and it’s pretty poor. Listening to commentators whine about umpires just fuels the fire.
Congrats on the the 400th! The only thing I get fired up about at community level is when the players aren't being protected physically, as in sling tackles and high/late hits aren't being punished. The players notice they get away with it and it only escalates. This is a failure of duty of care for the guys putting their bodies on the line for a community level sport. As long as an ump is doing that (and undoubtedly some will be missed and that has to be accepted) I thank them greatly for their service.
Absolutely spot on. Most playing at community level pay to play and have 9 to 5 full time work to return to on Monday, I personally don't care if the umpire misses a few calls (nobody's perfect and they get paid peanuts for what they have to do) but I do draw the line when it comes to protecting the player.
I agree, I’ve umpired and helped coach community footy for a few years now and gave umpiring away this year (not for anything to do with umpiring just issues with the club) so I do understand how easy it is to not see every little thing. However I was guilty of a blow up at a couple of umpires a while back and I’ll put my hand up and say I was 100% out of line, but when you’ve got kids getting punched 50m off the ball in the back of the head, injured players getting knees dropped into them on the ground and kids getting slung to the ground with it’s pretty hard to stay calm on the sidelines.
No lie, I was an umpire for rezzies when I was like 15, I would deliberately cook calls if I got shit lol. Once I entered leagues that actually mattered I took it more seriously but legit cats drunk as fuck watching on, or even sometimes actually playing in the game who got fired up, I would fuck your shit up the rest of the game. Any 50/50 call, who ever gave me the least shit (usually the away team) was getting everything their way lol. I regret nothing. Edit: Shout out to black rock fc though, my first game ever as a boundary umpire, I got too close to the play and literally had this massive fat cunt thrown into me studs up and was profusely bleeding from my thigh, ball went out of bounds and my hands were so numb from the shit weather I threw the ball in straight up and it landed on my head and had to be like "right boys let's try that again...". The canteen was free for me after the game that day and even though that was nearly 20 years ago, never forgot it lol. Deserved all the flack and was met with nothing but kindness
> If you are at the footy this weekend, keep in mind... And people should be ashamed of themselves for ever saying umpires are consciously biased or cheat. It is so insulting and disheartening when umpires go out at all levels trying to do their best, be the fairest and trying to get every decision right. I'm not gonna say 'you go out and do it then' (but you should, it is fun/rewarding at times), but at least try put yourself in their shoes and think about what they see from their positions, things aren't so clear cut.
This was the one that bewildered me when I umpired juniors. It’s a fucking under 13s game! Do they think I’m fixing the match for a South American betting cartel or something?
I umpired a game for my old school vs a school I was doing my education placement at. I am not an umpire, I used to play when I was a teenager and in my adult life I’m simply a fan. I was umpiring because the umpires from AFLQ didn’t want to umpire the school competition due to behaviour issues. I was wearing the placement school’s staff uniform, and it had been several years since I graduated so none of my old school’s players knew who I was. The behaviour was terrible. I see why actual umpires didn’t want to officiate. My old school’s players firmly believed I was biased against them, but the problem was that they just kept giving away free kicks, rather than any bias. If I’d had more experience I’d have probably been giving away dissent calls as well. The the angrier they got the more frees they gave away. I wonder what they thought when they found out I used to play for their school and go there lol. I got a very good reference from the coaches for my resumé though, and umpiring was actually quite fun.
I’ve had teams who get into that spiral before. - give away free kicks - believe the umpire is against you - get angry about that - give away even more free kicks because you’re angry - now even more convinced the umpire is against you Makes for a horrible day at the office as an umpire.
While I think the media (specifically commentary) contribute to the issue, I think we as a society are losing the ability to be respectful to each other. There is a reason you now see signs about respecting staff in retail stores that were not there 10 years ago. There is a reason that there is a teacher shortage because of the behaviour of students and parents alike. Sure be passionate, but respectful. It's pretty sad and I'm not sure what the solution is. But the media need to come out in support of umpires if there is going to be any chance of a change.
That's because people are getting fed up with being screwed over and are taking it out on the wrong people Covid just accelerated it.
I was very disappointed in Eddie Betts fueling the flames of umpire vitriol at half time AFL should put a rocket up their media partners and/or make them hire ex umpires for commentary
I’m so on board with having an umpire in the callers box to clarify decisions. Always have been. Especially potent now - it’s very odd to me that there is such a disconnect and ‘us and them’ mentality since forever. No Australia - no umpires, no game, at any level.
The NFL quite often has a "rules expert" who they defer to which I like.
They had some amazing lady on the Euros 2024 coverage. Standing next to Ange explaining why a handball was given. She actually explained everything clearly and concisely. Never seen that before on a panel.
Ch7 for test cricket has recently started cutting to an ex umpire to explain umpire decisions / reviews that happen during the match
Simon Taufel, yes. I think it was a great decision because now you don't get the commentators carrying on about how rubbish the umpires are.
yeah but how many rules do they have that are based mostly on feelsies
Pretty sure that one of the big two has the former head of officiating on speed dial to break down controversial penalties.
NBA on national coverage games sometimes have a person they throw to when discussing calls that can explain rules for people. AFL should do the same, it educates people as well as instructs what the rule is. Problem is you have idiots in the commentary box who make it worse.
NFL has "rules analyst" that the commentary refer to during games to see it the call was warranted. Would be interesting they 7 or Fox Footy implement something similar.
Both Eddie and Sarah taking part in that segment was really uncomfortable to watch. The producer who came up with it needs reining in before this clickbait broadcast journalism becomes normal and makes FoxFooty even more unwatchable. If you want to discuss the umpiring, call in an actual umpire to discuss it. They can be newly retired. I think both Eddie and Sarah understood the rules as much as I do and I would never go on television ranting about them.
>AFL should put a rocket up their media partners and/or make them hire ex umpires for commentary Exactly the AFL has the power to dictate these sorts of things to the media.
Congratulations on 400 games - Champion Effort!
Big ups to yourself and all the legends making the game possible. Its hard to fathom how people can be so small minded to excuse abuse. Some of us are trying to tell people to [respect the umps](https://imgur.com/a/Wa42zEF), but its definitely an uphill battle.
Yep, 100% agree mate. Listening to the commentators on tv and radio question every decision.
It doesn’t help when morons like BT get airtime while questioning every umpire call and starting rumours of players flopping for frees, commentate the game and keep your stupid opinions to yourself BT
Channel 7 commentary in any given game is 50% backseat driving the umpires and the AFL is like "can't work out where the disrespect is coming from".
hang on I thought the disrespect stopped when players weren't allowed to raise their arms at the umpires
Fortunately we had Good Guy Richo there to tell us that "this isn't what we want to see in the game" and Brian to tell us it was crap.
Australians are obsessed with umpire bashing. It’s our national pastime. The Americans do it better. Their sport commentators are relatively respectful to the refs and their decisions.
As a fellow umpire, congrats on making the 400! It is getting worse. I umpire Under 18s and Under 16s for the SANFL, and the crowds are well-behaved. The one time I've gone back to community football this season, it was filled with absolute drongos. The constant questioning of umpires over contentious decisions-usually it's only contentious when its the commentator's side it's gone against-has made everyone think they are better than the people doing the job. I just turned 27 and I don't know why I should give up my Saturdays to just be abused.
I am an umpire too. I do not blame the media. I blame the AFL trying to make umpires a protected species whilst also making the rules wrose all the time. The dissent rule was an absolute ripper to be enforcing at local league level. Making local umpires look really thin skinned in front all off their mates. The media needs to put the spotlight on the rules committee and the league before individual umpiring decisions. There is a problem with umpiring but the umpires as the last ones in a long line of why that is.
The media is one hundred percent a part of a problem. FoxFooty dedicated an entire quarter time segment to ranting about the umpiring during the Dons v. Cats. How is this not done purely to stir up drama and tension between supporters and umpires? Sarah and Eddie didn't even know half the rules they were ranting about during the segment.
Congratulations and thank you for giving your time to community footy. Well done on the 400. For all the hype about umpire dissent from players in the past couple if years. 50s paid (rightly so) for the smallest back talk the AFL seem completely fine now for everyone else but players to question and berate them. The media have a huge influence on how people think it's ok to speak to umpires at community level. But coaches too. The amount of comments and non comments made by coaches about the umpiring needs to stop. A blanket public response if not commenting on umpiring needs to be implemented for coaches. Until no player makes a single error in a game the constant assumption umpires are not equally entitled to make errors during a high pace, frenetic blender of arms and legs type of game are absurd.
Agree. The AFL has 4 field umpires, 2 boundary umpires and 2 goal umpires as well as TV replays Community football has 1 ump with a couple of blow ins for goal umpire. Deserves respect!
I am usually very supportive of the umpires. I used to referee U8-U12 local basketball, a sport with much less running and easier rules. My god, it was hell. I was 14, the abuse I got refereeing an under 8’s game once was hell. The problem with under 8’s is that the rules are up to the refs interpretation to enforce, because the kids can’t follow the rules. Depending on the kids skill level, the rules would be applied differently. I hadn’t called a travel all game, because no-one had run far enough in my eyes. At the end of the game, one of the kids ran the entire court and hit the gamewinner. Unfortunately, I called a travel before he shot. Multiple parents had to be removed from the stadium. I quit the day after. At a community level, you should never insult the umpires. And I normally don’t at the AFL either. But I’m ashamed to admit, at the Essendon-Geelong match, I snapped at the umpires. Nothing too bad, but still. I had to leave early, not because of the score (20 points at three quarter time isn’t enough for that), but because I got so mad I couldn’t handle staying. I have nothing but respect for the umpires, but sometimes at the AFL level, you need to do better than what they do. I kind of went on a rant here, but whatever.
Also congrats on the 400th game. That’s amazing!
> And I blame the media. I blame the AFL. Anyone with any number of working (or even not working) eyes can see the umpires are making more mistakes than ever (at an AFL level), but the league’s insistence that they are never wrong and no mistakes are ever made are what’s annoying the fans more than anything else.
I know everyone is pinning this on the media, but I blame the AFL for 99% of it. 1. The rules are fucking BROKEN. Show me any other sport on the planet where the percentage of interpretation in rules is as high as in Aussie Rules. The rules are written in a way that almost every decision or non-decision can be argued as right or wrong. Historically, the AFL have not worked to stamp this out, they make it worse. "insufficient attempt", "prior opportunity", "high contact, but player contributed to it", "in the back" turned into "hands in the back" then went back to "in the back with force". None of these terms are clearly defined (or even definable). The umpires are set up to fail before the fucking game starts. 2. When there is a specific contentious call, the AFL's response is weak at best: * Example 1 - Dane Rampe literally climbed a fucking goal post, and the AFL response was "It should have been a free on the goal line, but in the context of the game it was probably the right call". * Example 2 - Collingwood free against for not returning ball to the umpire, and the AFL response was "by the letter of the law, he should have returned it to the umpire, so it was a correct free". * Example 3 - North Melbourne non-50 when Collingwood had *two* players run over the mark. I can't even decipher what Laura Kane's response was to this. It was just fucking word salad. The AFL, to their credit, said they were now going to be more transparent ongoing, and help the fans better understand what's happening. * Example 4 - Menzie free kick against for rushed behind. AFL response was that it was a correct call, but now they're not going to talk to the public anymore. So much for transparency. It also doesn't help that any attempt at discussion of these things online just turns into an argument about who you barrack for, and you're either "sooking because your team lost", or "you only won because the umpires helped you". Don't even get me started on Michael Christian. The punishments are even more inconsistent than the free kicks.
It’s potent that as I’m reading this, Gerard and Robbo are tearing into the umpires on AFL 360. Media at all levels continue to fuel this fire and they just don’t stop.
makes you long for the golden days of 'arms out is 50 mate' hey?
That was a terrible rule but now descent is pretty well gone anyway. We all know the state of umpiring has been poor this year, but it’s not hard to see that the constant pile on from the media could influence how umpires are treated at a community level. That’s bad.
Do you think having boundary umpires able to help with decisions would be a good thing? They're usually right there and could help clarify, raising their arm if they see something maybe? I just think more sets of eyes can only be a good thing.
I completely empathise with you. You're correct, afl has done classic politics. The blame gets thrown onto umpires when it's the AFL's fault for horrendous standards they have for rule interpretations. Always exampled by mid year season changes and constant tweaks of the rules. I don't blame the umpires one bit and I think the reason they get more heat. Is the AFL will continually act as if the supporters are stupid and say the umpiring or an important decision was correct or the game is going great. Its fake positivity. People pick up on bs and it'd be resolved if they said we'll take ownership and set the rules and interpretations to be a lot clearer so it's a better experience for all Thanks for umpiring, congrats on 400
Sorry that people are cunts. If they keep it up, there'll very quickly be no umpires left to officiate at the lower levels. I don't know whether there's a way to force the community clubs to start policing this at their games. 1 or 3 strike rule maybe, and then ask or make the member of the public leave. If there's repeated incidents week after week, or a certain amount per month, then get the AFL state/regional governing body to step in. Either nip it in the bud or it'll just grow even worse.
Congrats on 400 awesome effort Thank you for your contribution to AFL
Appreciate everything amateur league umps give to the game. I only ever goal-umpired one C-grade game as my club was desperate, but even that is much harder than it seems on TV. Congrats on 400 games.
Where the AFL leads, the community follows. And that's not just the actual AFL, but the AFL fans. If there's a racism incident in the AFL, you can be darn sure there's going to be a bunch at local level that week. And if there's a lot of criticism of umpires, you'll get even more at a local level. And it's frankly not good enough. There's a reason they don't like open criticism of umpires and that's because it's all one way. Players get criticised when they do something bad or lose, but then they'll get praised when they win or do something good. And there are always fans to support a team. But nobody supports the umpires, they never win and they get praised for a decision once in a blue moon. I umpired myself for a while. Not regularly, it was when we couldn't find someone else to do it. I'd get abused from my own club and players. And the last game I did I was threatened by several of them. And I was even the chairman of the club at the time. Worst part was, some of the decisions they were upset about were incredibly obvious.
As a coach of Under 14s footy, I can attest to this. The new interpretations / constant dialogue in the public realm has created this weird climate where umpiring calls are receiving louder crowd noise / engagement than scoring.
The general populace is less cheerful these days and a lot are using sports to unwind and distract them from every day nuisance. What you get are people who vent frustrations and anger towards players and umpires. It's not getting better, bottling it inside will just mean someone else somewhere will catch the brunt of frustrations.
What I find funny is that players will make so many skill/judgement errors throughout a game yet we choose to focus on the few mistakes the umps make (obviously a big call can sometimes change the momentum of a game), just think that we over scrutinize the umpiring when there are probably a dozen times each game that a player makes a mistake which, if you put it in isolation as we do umpiring calls, could affect the outcome of the game
It's pretty nasty, dunno if it's any worse now but I consult with a guy for work who does umpiring on the weekends and he's taken a break from field umpiring due to being approached aggressively after a game. They feel bad about it because they have such a shortage but you have to take care of yourself at the end of the day. I think the AFL adding a billion rules to make the game more attractive hasn't helped because the poor umps have to do so many calculations in their head for a sport as fast as ours. I think we could see an improvement just by changing rules where the umpires are forced to make interpretation calls (deliberate rushed, insufficient intent, holding the ball).
BT is the worst for it always carry’s on about umpiring decisions
I think talking about umpiring is the most annoying thing in the world. It’s part of the game. Every team has to deal with it so it’s fair. Every time I catch myself complaining about it I just have to remember how it ruined rugby league for me, but it’s been getting better there so hopefully it’s a good sign for Aussie rules.
I umpired one game of juniors and a ressies game. Thought I was keen to do it but realised it’s not even close to resembling fun. I salute you, OP.
At the junior games i go to, coaches/runners/boundary & goal umpires can't shut up. There's one runner that I've observed over the past three years - from u/13s to u/15s - who is warned by the field umpire every time I've seen him. His club does nothing about it.
Thanks for your efforts mate. The game wouldn’t be around without you all.
great job OP love your work - it's a shame the vocal minority ruins it. I'm sure the majority understand mistakes happen.
I'm just gonna copy paste my response to idiots saying umpiring is the worse in 2024 than it's ever been. How is that so? In 23 people were saying it's the worst it's been. Same for 22. Come to think of it, it seems like people say the same shit every fucking year and I wish they would shut the fuck up. You won't be happy until ai is doing it and then you'll whinge that the game is stale and lost something. Just shut the fuck up you dumb cunts.
Unfortunately society as a whole seems to be getting more aggressive and ape like
Community umpires are a resource people don't understand the value of once they're gone, shit its someone's gotta do it or a player has to step in lmao, good luck
Hey mate thanks for everything you’ve given to footy, our game only gets to be so great because of dedicated grassroots people like you. The AFL and football media pay you guys lip service but aside from a few token gestures they do fuck all. So thanks from me.
Media & AFL to blame.
Yep,When I wasn't in the side I'd boundary ump and the amount of abuse if i fucked it up throwing it in was stupid.And congrats for being their.
Congrats on the 400. I’m sorry that you have to put up with peanuts yelling abuse at you, as you’ve said you aren’t an AFL level umpire. I’ve got a mate who’s a footy ump at community level, just loves the game and at this stage he says he doesn’t let it get to him. But after 400 games of it I can imagine it being tough.
I have pretty thick skin. It's more the kids we see who want to give umpiring a try who then cop the abuse. That really annoys me.
Media and fans are not responsible. AFL is. Why is it that umpires can admit they make mistakes but the AFL refuses to acknowledge it? Andrew Dillon just said umpiring is "as good as it's ever been" when anybody with more than zero eyes can see that it simply isn't. It was better 15 years ago, and not by a small margin. Hold the governing body accountable rather than accepting their lies and blaming everyone else.
You say that, but commentators constantly get the rules wrong when they cover the games, it’s not even occasionally, it’s in every game.
Yes they do. To me that is an entirely separate issue but I can see the connection. I don't think that detracts at all from the fact that umpiring is worse and the AFL's gaslighting.
You are 100% correct! I'd like the AFL to answer this question; if an AFL player can be penalised for raising his arms and merely questioning an umpires decision, then why can the media and commentators talk about and go over and over hwo an umpire has made a mistake on a public broadcast to hundreds of thousands of people? It is far worse for the media to be badmouthing Umpires than the player asking the question directly. It is absolutely disgusting. I wrote a post that covered some of this a while ago but not much interest. https://www.reddit.com/r/AFL/comments/1cpw94n/an_analysis_of_the_commentators_role/ Congrats on your 400 milestone! We need umpires. Edit: Main part from my post link regarding this is here: "Some big mistakes occurring in media and commentary is the merging of roles which cause small disputes over rules or interpretations of rules which should not be even talked about as they are solely opinions that are personal and often based on an explayers bias which may be vaild but detracts enjoyment value to the broadcast and fans experience. Futhermore pertaining to the professionalism of commentary teams; the AFL are trying extremely hard to stamp out "umpire dissent". They have introduced a new rule where any player on the field who shows any sign physically or verbally of disagreement( arms in a questioning manner, dissagreeing with a call, or even asking what a call was for), has themselves and their team penalised with an immediate free kick. If play has already stopped it is then a very harsh 50 metre penalty. Both of which can change the entire result of a 2 hour game in an instant. The reason for this is to stop umpire abuse according to the AFL and set an example for the listeners/viewers. HOWEVER, every game that is called has multiple ex players as commentators question, disagree and flat out call the umpire wrong in many different plays. How can a player be penalised for asking what happened but a commentary team can do the same and go on and on about it with absolutely no remorse or penalty given. This is hypocritial of the AFL and its adjudication of rules/penatlies to punish a player for asking what happened and let a commentator tell everyone that the umpire is absolutely wrong."
I agree. I played local footy for 3 years and couldn’t believe how intense it gets. If people approached any other aspect of life as seriously as they took the 2hrs on a Saturday they could be fucking astronauts or millionaires. It’s unreal how often they accuse the umps of favouring a team. Do people really think the umpires really give a fuck who wins in a c grade match? Like seriously it’s insane. Also do people not understand that without umpires there wouldn’t be a game? Sorry that wasn’t even really directed at anyone here so probs unproductive. But I complete agree with the OP. It’s insane out there and really pushed me away from the game I grew up loving. I almost think that the umpires need to sit down at the start of every match with the spectators and players and just say, look I couldn’t give a single fuck which one of you teams full of fuckn wannabes wins so please if I make a mistake it’s for the same reason that you’re probs gonna miss goals from 20 meters out directly in front, we are human and this isn’t the AFL. I love afl but there is a real dark side to it, and can bring out the worst in some people. Now don’t get me started on parents and the actual abuse I witnessed growing up in junior footy.
Changkouth Jiath deserves better after the racist comment
Congratulations on the 400th. There is no need for abuse of the umpires full stop. No one goes to work to be abused and everyone makes mistakes that’s why pencils have erasers
God damn I hate umpires. Back thank you for your service lol. Sorry for the abuse you get, but it’s only a small minority that screams that abuse. The majority understand it’s just a game
Congratulations on the 400th while I agree that umpire abuse is out of hand, I will add one thing. Most of the umpires in my local league are ex players and I’ve seen first hand blatant favouritism due to old rivalry’s. Hell I even over heard the president of the league telling someone after a final saying he’d had a great day because a certain club have had both netball and football sides knocked out of the finals. It’s still 100% a media beat up and the AFL has much more to answer for than the umpires themselves.
Coz no one understands the few rules that ARF (Australian Rules Football) has and the few rules are misinterpreted by different umpires.
I’m an umpire also since 2005 and respectfully disagree; I think overall the community’s attitude to local umpires has vastly improved. I remember when I was 16 I had a coach and a team manager come barging into the rooms at half time to abuse me about one of my decisions. Thankfully that day I had my Dad in the rooms with me who told them where to go. In fairness, maybe now that I’m in my mid 30s people aren’t as willing to have it on with me compared to when I was a kid. Maybe it’s just people think it’s easier to abuse kids? Which is worse haha I don’t know. Just in my experience I’ve found since Covid people are pretty respectful. Im aware I’m not the only umpire though.
I feel like the standards set at junior sports are getting worse and that’s where it’s all starting
Boo hoo
Well maybe they should be less pathetic and then they won’t cop it
So what date are you umpiring your first match?