Umpires have traditionally not wanted to be full timeI think you’re talking around each other a bit.
Gadzorks is talking about vitriolic abuse and umpire blaming. You’re talking about criticising umpires.
Umpires shouldn’t be a protected species and should be open to criticism and consequence for poor performance like any other job. But some of the stuff that is screamed at them every week at the footy is way over the line.
I think if we were building footy culture from the ground up again, we might want there to be a bit less of what goes on each weekend in terms of what is directed at the umpires. I don’t know how you fix it now.
Paying them full time seems like a good start to maybe help attract umpires to the profession and raise the standards.