Standard of Umpiring - Suggestions for change

[windchimes]

Only a member of the Illuminati would even suggest a triple bluff.

We’re onto you.

We've all heard the rumours about lawyers in Melbourne being Reptilla

I'm onto you both and your lizard antics

 

[jonbe54]

I think if they get to AFL level they’re on >100,000/ year. That seems a pretty good wage to be a power tripping flog


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

I have no idea of their wages but but someone needs to be held accountable with one of the leagues major sponsors being big gambling.

 

[Gone Critical]

This. The fact that umpiring interpretation and ‘squaring up scores / results’ is so contrived and controlled by the umpires and umpires association / HQ makes our game corrupt, pure and simple.

In a game like bris Vs us, you have a perfect scenario where we are 3 - 0, vs a darling interstate team that was supposed to be a flag favourite, but didn’t have the win loss ratio that it was supposed to have at the start of the season. The result - Time to square things up.

Things get let go if the favoured team are in the wrong, and the umpires have a huge amount of influence on a game, with 50m penalties in their arsenal, along with WHERE they pay the frees. V important, as they can maintain a reasonable ratio, whilst giving favoured teams frees in the goal square or at crucial clearance opps, and not to the non-favoured team. This has been happening to us for years, with cloke and Cox refused frees near goal, whilst the whistle can’t be blown quick enough at the other end. Then our running backs will be cleverly awarded frees when already in possession and waved on, to hide the bias in the numbers.

Bottom line is as an umpire you’re never going to be reprimanded for bias against us, and even commentators can’t critique them when at fault, otherwise they will be black balled by HQ.

I would also add that the confidence gained by a team getting a ride from umps is massive, whilst the opposing team becomes scared to go hard at the ball, or near the opposition players without being pinged, or given 50’s.

I would also urge you to look at Geelong’s armchair ride last year, with brother Brad Scott in the hot seat. Chris admitted they spoke on a weekly basis, at length, which you would expect from twin brothers. You would also expect the intricacies of where the umpiring focus is shifting to on a weekly basis to be comm’d, and it was. Massive conflict in interest that should’ve seen Brad be ineligible for that role. Their treatment of Ginni in Geelong games was a perfect example of this, where Geelong’s defenders knew exactly how to deal with his tactics, and how the umpires were instructed to officiate him. No doubt partially agreed to in a think tank discussion between the twins. This is not far fetched at all, when the pressure of winning is on the line, along with the perceived fabric or ‘look of the game’. Whilst Chris Scott’s hypocrisy was absurd, considering his captain was the king of the ducking tactic.

oh, and for the record… the non push in the back rule is the most frustrating to watch. Again, Hawkins getting away with this week in week out is ridiculous, whilst McStay and Cox get shoved regularly with nothing paid.

The end

Interesting theory but i would like some clarification around your thoughts. I can see how people may be willing to believe corruption rules the day at HQ even if it would be hard to explain how its actually implemented.

The idea that the umpires are intimately involved in match fixing is the one I would love you to explain. I guess there must be near 50 on the panel at any given time. Are they all involved in the corruption or just some of the more senior influential ones? Who grooms them to give up their impartiality and what are they offered to do so? Do you believe this is part of the selection process to get onto the panel, do the AFL have a process to identify corruptibles? Many umpires have significant other careers, which pay them well and will be a big part of their future. What would make an umprire put their whole future at risk to appease the corrupt wishes of the AFL? A lot of money presumably paid illegally. How is that done and disguised?

By your theory we now have 100's of people involved in this scheme, past and present. A difficult thing to keep out of the news. Why havent there been any whistleblowers or anonymous leaks on a story that would destroy the AFL? Do you really think the benefits to the AFL of your theory, which seem marginal at best, justify such massive risks to the game and each individual involved?

 

[76woodenspooners]

Haven't read all the comments but my pet hate: the 50m pen. The punishment hardly ever fits the crime in my opinion. Make it a 5 metre penalty I reckon. That way players are determining results not umpires.

Stepping off the mark, I can't stand it (pardon the pun). It goes against the instincts players have been brought up with.

High tackles that don't start out high but become high because of the movement.of the tacled player. I'm referring here to these over the shoulder decisions that are only high tackles 4 seconds into the tackle. High tackle should be judged on how the tackle starts. So many players are hit in the head under packs and it is generally allowed unless someone is overly dangerous.

Deliberate out of bounds when someone kicks a ball down the line. They have basically rule out kicking into space.near boundaries. Most deliberate out of bounds by contrast are never paid. Talking here about blatant acting to see the ball over the line. Solution (possibly stupid) no more throw ins, just like in soccer the opponent gets the the throw in or in this case kick in which can not be a direct shot at goal.

Question that will forever remain unanswered, how is a knee in someone's back ok if you mark the ball and a free if you don't mark it

It doesn’t really matter what the rules are.

We could introduce a new rule that if a player marks the ball in their defensive goal square, all opposition players must immediately ’Do the Hokey Pokey and turn around’ - under penalty of a free kick from the centre square if they are judged not to execute it properly and in perfect sync. The kiddies would love it. The gnarly intestines of the oldies would spew forth a volcano of green bile over it. But the oldies eventually die and are replaced by the kiddies who inherit the earth. Then the kiddies get old, and it’s their turn to cling on tight with white knuckles to the sentimentality of their youth when they were sexy and banging hot bods. And they cling on tight to a world they’d been programmed to understand. New kiddies come along and want something bright and shiny and new and exciting because they want to make their mark on the world. And different is always cool. And the generations go around and around and around.

Look back to the glory days of the machine team of the late 1920’s and the crowds who adored them. Imagine sharing a moment at the dinner table hearing their stories? It’s sounds all very lamb roast and apple pie in theory, but in practice it’d be friggen‘ tiresome and boorish listening to the old codgers banging on about how amazing things were back in the day, and how the game you grew up loving is terrible, and the heros you grew up idolising aren’t anything like the gods back in the day who picked their noses and bathed once a week.

We die for a good reason. Without death we cannot have evolution and regrowth. We can accelerate our death by clinging onto a world that has well passed us by. Or we can maintain relevance by fighting the good fight, and when we lose, we accept it, we embrace it, and then we own the change as if we’d wanted it all along.

 

[cityslick1]

Interesting theory but i would like some clarification around your thoughts. I can see how people may be willing to believe corruption rules the day at HQ even if it would be hard to explain how its actually implemented.

The idea that the umpires are intimately involved in match fixing is the one I would love you to explain. I guess there must be near 50 on the panel at any given time. Are they all involved in the corruption or just some of the more senior influential ones? Who grooms them to give up their impartiality and what are they offered to do so? Do you believe this is part of the selection process to get onto the panel, do the AFL have a process to identify corruptibles? Many umpires have significant other careers, which pay them well and will be a big part of their future. What would make an umprire put their whole future at risk to appease the corrupt wishes of the AFL? A lot of money presumably paid illegally. How is that done and disguised?

By your theory we now have 100's of people involved in this scheme, past and present. A difficult thing to keep out of the news. Why havent there been any whistleblowers or anonymous leaks on a story that would destroy the AFL? Do you really think the benefits to the AFL of your theory, which seem marginal at best, justify such massive risks to the game and each individual involved?

You mean like corruption in the police force, CIA, DEA, or FIFA etc? That never happens right, because It would have to involve too many people and just seems too far fetched…

& I was actually going to say I’m just waiting for a retired umpire to come out and say “I was instructed to even games up”, but the league propbably has them on NDA’s, and it wouldve been all verbal, so v hard to prove, not worth the risk etc, and that would def affect their other future careers. Anyone ever thought that this may be a key factor in why it’s so hard to recruit / retain umpires…..

And it doesn’t need a panel of 50 to execute this, it’s quite simple in my mind. It comes down to three key people to enforce, with one to one dialect between the last line of these three, and the individual field umpires.
AFL chief to head of football operations… “we need close games, you can partially help here. need to make sure the stronger teams don’t get a run on decisions when already leading. And I also don’t like what ginnivan is doing, looks bad. Can’t have every kid coming though using those tactics. Any signs of ducking and you let it go. Agree?
“Yep, I don’t like it either. I’ll feed it down to the Director of coaching and enforce leniency against the tackler of Ginni. On the frees, we can make sure 50 / 50 calls don’t all go to the winning teams, and try to avoid any blowouts or developing teams getting harsh treatment.”
“Exactly. I’ll wait to see progress, and come back to you if I see any examples where we could’ve done better.”

This then goes to the director of umpires in great detail, with all decisions / free counts / line ball calls closely monitored and discussed between the two, on a weekly basis.

This then becomes a key part of instructing and reviewing field umpires performance 1v1, who have v strict guidelines and are scrutinised on every decision they make… internally at least, though with guaranteed protection in the public forum. They all want to appease their bosses, and want to umpire big games / finals / grand finals etc, which is the big aim for all umpires. And obviously don’t want to get dropped for not playing ball, or having ‘substandard’ marks on their weekly report cards. Which all comes down to subjectivity, with so many grey areas in our rules.

I don’t have evidence of this, other than what I consistently see on my screen. But I do know people that have worked at AFL headquarters, and all say the same thing. That it’s a v well oiled machine / boys club with VERY strong influence and objectives at all levels - including with clubs. And with so many employees trying to appease the AFL hierarchy, to land good roles in HQ and not be discarded to country football leagues etc. Again, sounds like a military or law enforcement, government or even organised crime type culture, with a lot of control and power coming from the top, and soldiers ordered to carry out directives, with quick and clear penalties if they don’t play by the rules. And as little transparency as possible in the public forum.

If you’ve read the latest court case details from the ex Melbourne president, or the details re the drugs saga, this culture of clandestine control is quite clear and evident, so not a stretch at all to think this isn’t happening in the area of actually officiating the game

 

[76woodenspooners]

I think if they get to AFL level they’re on >100,000/ year. That seems a pretty good wage to be a power tripping flog

You reckon we should get rid of them?

Umpires are like cops, grey ghosts, lawyers, …

… some like to whinge about them, but would you want to do their job? And would you really want to live in a society without them?

 

[sideswipe]

You mean like corruption in the police force, CIA, DEA, or FIFA etc? That never happens right, because It would have to involve too many people and just seems too far fetched…

& I was actually going to say I’m just waiting for a retired umpire to come out and say “I was instructed to even games up”, but the league propbably has them on NDA’s, and it wouldve been all verbal, so v hard to prove, not worth the risk etc, and that would def affect their other future careers. Anyone ever thought that this may be a key factor in why it’s so hard to recruit / retain umpires…..

And it doesn’t need a panel of 50 to execute this, it’s quite simple in my mind. It comes down to three key people to enforce, with one to one dialect between the last line of these three, and the individual field umpires.
AFL chief to head of football operations… “we need close games, you can partially help here. need to make sure the stronger teams don’t get a run on decisions when already leading. And I also don’t like what ginnivan is doing, looks bad. Can’t have every kid coming though using those tactics. Any signs of ducking and you let it go. Agree?
“Yep, I don’t like it either. I’ll feed it down to the Director of coaching and enforce leniency against the tackler of Ginni. On the frees, we can make sure 50 / 50 calls don’t all go to the winning teams, and try to avoid any blowouts or developing teams getting harsh treatment.”
“Exactly. I’ll wait to see progress, and come back to you if I see any examples where we could’ve done better.”

This then goes to the director of umpires in great detail, with all decisions / free counts / line ball calls closely monitored and discussed between the two, on a weekly basis.

This then becomes a key part of instructing and reviewing field umpires performance 1v1, who have v strict guidelines and are scrutinised on every decision they make… internally at least, though with guaranteed protection in the public forum. They all want to appease their bosses, and want to umpire big games / finals / grand finals etc, which is the big aim for all umpires. And obviously don’t want to get dropped for not playing ball, or having ‘substandard’ marks on their weekly report cards. Which all comes down to subjectivity, with so many grey areas in our rules.

I don’t have evidence of this, other than what I consistently see on my screen. But I do know people that have worked at AFL headquarters, and all say the same thing. That it’s a v well oiled machine / boys club with VERY strong influence and objectives at all levels - including with clubs. And with so many employees trying to appease the AFL hierarchy, to land good roles in HQ and not be discarded to country football leagues etc. Again, sounds like a military or law enforcement, government or even organised crime type culture, with a lot of control and power coming from the top, and soldiers ordered to carry out directives, with quick and clear penalties if they don’t play by the rules. And as little transparency as possible in the public forum.

If you’ve read the latest court case details from the ex Melbourne president, or the details re the drugs saga, this culture of clandestine control is quite clear and evident, so not a stretch at all to think this isn’t happening in the area of actually officiating the game

Stopped reading at “umps on NDAs”. You’ve watched too many movies. Get a hold of yourself.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Kirby]

You mean like corruption in the police force, CIA, DEA, or FIFA etc? That never happens right, because It would have to involve too many people and just seems too far fetched…

& I was actually going to say I’m just waiting for a retired umpire to come out and say “I was instructed to even games up”, but the league propbably has them on NDA’s, and it wouldve been all verbal, so v hard to prove, not worth the risk etc, and that would def affect their other future careers. Anyone ever thought that this may be a key factor in why it’s so hard to recruit / retain umpires…..

And it doesn’t need a panel of 50 to execute this, it’s quite simple in my mind. It comes down to three key people to enforce, with one to one dialect between the last line of these three, and the individual field umpires.
AFL chief to head of football operations… “we need close games, you can partially help here. need to make sure the stronger teams don’t get a run on decisions when already leading. And I also don’t like what ginnivan is doing, looks bad. Can’t have every kid coming though using those tactics. Any signs of ducking and you let it go. Agree?
“Yep, I don’t like it either. I’ll feed it down to the Director of coaching and enforce leniency against the tackler of Ginni. On the frees, we can make sure 50 / 50 calls don’t all go to the winning teams, and try to avoid any blowouts or developing teams getting harsh treatment.”
“Exactly. I’ll wait to see progress, and come back to you if I see any examples where we could’ve done better.”

This then goes to the director of umpires in great detail, with all decisions / free counts / line ball calls closely monitored and discussed between the two, on a weekly basis.

This then becomes a key part of instructing and reviewing field umpires performance 1v1, who have v strict guidelines and are scrutinised on every decision they make… internally at least, though with guaranteed protection in the public forum. They all want to appease their bosses, and want to umpire big games / finals / grand finals etc, which is the big aim for all umpires. And obviously don’t want to get dropped for not playing ball, or having ‘substandard’ marks on their weekly report cards. Which all comes down to subjectivity, with so many grey areas in our rules.

I don’t have evidence of this, other than what I consistently see on my screen. But I do know people that have worked at AFL headquarters, and all say the same thing. That it’s a v well oiled machine / boys club with VERY strong influence and objectives at all levels - including with clubs. And with so many employees trying to appease the AFL hierarchy, to land good roles in HQ and not be discarded to country football leagues etc. Again, sounds like a military or law enforcement, government or even organised crime type culture, with a lot of control and power coming from the top, and soldiers ordered to carry out directives, with quick and clear penalties if they don’t play by the rules. And as little transparency as possible in the public forum.

If you’ve read the latest court case details from the ex Melbourne president, or the details re the drugs saga, this culture of clandestine control is quite clear and evident, so not a stretch at all to think this isn’t happening in the area of actually officiating the game

Get off the internet mate it’s turned you insane.

Get help now.

 

[windchimes]

Some of you lot need to touch grass.

 

[Kirby]

Stopped reading at “umps on NDAs”. You’ve watched too many movies. Get a hold of yourself.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

Apparently you can get your employees to sign DNAs and have complete impunity to commit any crime you like.

 

[Gone Critical]

You mean like corruption in the police force, CIA, DEA, or FIFA etc? That never happens right, because It would have to involve too many people and just seems too far fetched…
My problem with h
& I was actually going to say I’m just waiting for a retired umpire to come out and say “I was instructed to even games up”, but the league propbably has them on NDA’s, and it wouldve been all verbal, so v hard to prove, not worth the risk etc, and that would def affect their other future careers. Anyone ever thought that this may be a key factor in why it’s so hard to recruit / retain umpires…..

And it doesn’t need a panel of 50 to execute this, it’s quite simple in my mind. It comes down to three key people to enforce, with one to one dialect between the last line of these three, and the individual field umpires.
AFL chief to head of football operations… “we need close games, you can partially help here. need to make sure the stronger teams don’t get a run on decisions when already leading. And I also don’t like what ginnivan is doing, looks bad. Can’t have every kid coming though using those tactics. Any signs of ducking and you let it go. Agree?
“Yep, I don’t like it either. I’ll feed it down to the Director of coaching and enforce leniency against the tackler of Ginni. On the frees, we can make sure 50 / 50 calls don’t all go to the winning teams, and try to avoid any blowouts or developing teams getting harsh treatment.”
“Exactly. I’ll wait to see progress, and come back to you if I see any examples where we could’ve done better.”

This then goes to the director of umpires in great detail, with all decisions / free counts / line ball calls closely monitored and discussed between the two, on a weekly basis.

This then becomes a key part of instructing and reviewing field umpires performance 1v1, who have v strict guidelines and are scrutinised on every decision they make… internally at least, though with guaranteed protection in the public forum. They all want to appease their bosses, and want to umpire big games / finals / grand finals etc, which is the big aim for all umpires. And obviously don’t want to get dropped for not playing ball, or having ‘substandard’ marks on their weekly report cards. Which all comes down to subjectivity, with so many grey areas in our rules.

I don’t have evidence of this, other than what I consistently see on my screen. But I do know people that have worked at AFL headquarters, and all say the same thing. That it’s a v well oiled machine / boys club with VERY strong influence and objectives at all levels - including with clubs. And with so many employees trying to appease the AFL hierarchy, to land good roles in HQ and not be discarded to country football leagues etc. Again, sounds like a military or law enforcement, government or even organised crime type culture, with a lot of control and power coming from the top, and soldiers ordered to carry out directives, with quick and clear penalties if they don’t play by the rules. And as little transparency as possible in the public forum.

If you’ve read the latest court case details from the ex Melbourne president, or the details re the drugs saga, this culture of clandestine control is quite clear and evident, so not a stretch at all to think this isn’t happening in the area of actually officiating the game

I do have troubles with your explanation. Many big institiuitions, police are an obvious example, have instances of corruption and would be constantly on guard against this. There will be examples well known that we can go to. I think we can reasonably assume the majority of the police force isnt corrupt however.

You have done something different here. You have accused the umpires as a group of mass corruption without any history of it happening . I am not a lawyer but suspect your claims would be to a criminal offence level. You have no evidence of these offences other than you think you see enough on TV to believe what is happening. You provide no incentive for the umpires becoming corrupted other than their desire to umpire big games and keep their spot on the panel. you really need to find a bigger carrot for them. Our team Collingwood is the victim whereas teams you dont like, Brissie, Geelong etc are the beneficiaries. Cant you see how this doesnt work. The panel of 50 is the umpires. Or on your theory these influences can be achieved by not having them all involved? If so please explain.

My biggest problem is you seem happy to accuse a group of people of very serious offences with next to no evidence and essentially take an axe to their reputatuons. Thats not really fair.

 

[Didak Wine]

It doesn’t really matter what the rules are.

We could introduce a new rule that if a player marks the ball in their defensive goal square, all opposition players must immediately ’Do the Hokey Pokey and turn around’ - under penalty of a free kick from the centre square if they are judged not to execute it properly and in perfect sync. The kiddies would love it. The gnarly intestines of the oldies would spew forth a volcano of green bile over it. But the oldies eventually die and are replaced by the kiddies who inherit the earth. Then the kiddies get old, and it’s their turn to cling on tight with white knuckles to the sentimentality of their youth when they were sexy and banging hot bods. And they cling on tight to a world they’d been programmed to understand. New kiddies come along and want something bright and shiny and new and exciting because they want to make their mark on the world. And different is always cool. And the generations go around and around and around.

Look back to the glory days of the machine team of the late 1920’s and the crowds who adored them. Imagine sharing a moment at the dinner table hearing their stories? It’s sounds all very lamb roast and apple pie in theory, but in practice it’d be friggen‘ tiresome and boorish listening to the old codgers banging on about how amazing things were back in the day, and how the game you grew up loving is terrible, and the heros you grew up idolising aren’t anything like the gods back in the day who picked their noses and bathed once a week.

We die for a good reason. Without death we cannot have evolution and regrowth. We can accelerate our death by clinging onto a world that has well passed us by. Or we can maintain relevance by fighting the good fight, and when we lose, we accept it, we embrace it, and then we own the change as if we’d wanted it all along.

I know i know. But if i were the master of the universe i would subtract the 0 from the 50 metre pen then enter the wilderness of Sinai.

 

[sideswipe]

Apparently you can get your employees to sign DNAs and have complete impunity to commit any crime you like.

I recall it was mentioned in obiter that Mr Stevenson should have had his employee sign an NDA before they were instructed to insert the snail.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[sideswipe]

I do have troubles with your explanation. Many big institiuitions, police are an obvious example, have instances of corruption and would be constantly on guard against this. There will be examples well known that we can go to. I think we can reasonably assume the majority of the police force isnt corrupt however.

You have done something different here. You have accused the umpires as a group of mass corruption without any history of it happening . I am not a lawyer but suspect your claims would be to a criminal offence level. You have no evidence of these offences other than you think you see enough on TV to believe what is happening. You provide no incentive for the umpires becoming corrupted other than their desire to umpire big games and keep their spot on the panel. you really need to find a bigger carrot for them. Our team Collingwood is the victim whereas teams you dont like, Brissie, Geelong etc are the beneficiaries. Cant you see how this doesnt work. The panel of 50 is the umpires. Or on your theory these influences can be achieved by not having them all involved? If so please explain.

My biggest problem is you seem happy to accuse a group of people of very serious offences with next to no evidence and essentially take an axe to their reputatuons. Thats not really fair.

You sound like one of the sheeple.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[cityslick1]

I do have troubles with your explanation. Many big institiuitions, police are an obvious example, have instances of corruption and would be constantly on guard against this. There will be examples well known that we can go to. I think we can reasonably assume the majority of the police force isnt corrupt however.

You have done something different here. You have accused the umpires as a group of mass corruption without any history of it happening . I am not a lawyer but suspect your claims would be to a criminal offence level. You have no evidence of these offences other than you think you see enough on TV to believe what is happening. You provide no incentive for the umpires becoming corrupted other than their desire to umpire big games and keep their spot on the panel. you really need to find a bigger carrot for them. Our team Collingwood is the victim whereas teams you dont like, Brissie, Geelong etc are the beneficiaries. Cant you see how this doesnt work. The panel of 50 is the umpires. Or on your theory these influences can be achieved by not having them all involved? If so please explain.

My biggest problem is you seem happy to accuse a group of people of very serious offences with next to no evidence and essentially take an axe to their reputatuons. Thats not really fair.

What, you don’t think that peer pressure & keeping your job isn’t reason enough for people to be corrupted? Please. The afl know it’s a privileged industry to be involved in, and exploit that power regularly. I mentioned that employees of the afl want to stay in The big leagues and not be discarded to country football.
It’s not hard to influence the leaders in any workforce, and the rest becomes culture. So you don’t need formal, 100% coverage across every umpire to influence games. Ie, do you hear anyone in the media strongly criticising the surface of the MCG after the Ed Sheeran concert, despite it being shiteful and contributing to injuries…? No. It’s become a cultural norm with all media outlets that you do not question umpiring decisions, OR ground quality in the afl. Do so, and your boss gets a quick phone call from AFL HQ, which is addressed with the offender immediately. This I have seen first hand, having worked in the industry.
So, you take away freedom of speech, and what does that become…? But I get that people feel triggered if something bigger is happening behind the scenes that they are too blind to see

 

[JB1975]

What, you don’t think that peer pressure & keeping your job isn’t reason enough for people to be corrupted? Please. The afl know it’s a privileged industry to be involved in, and exploit that power regularly. I mentioned that employees of the afl want to stay in The big leagues and not be discarded to country football.
It’s not hard to influence the leaders in any workforce, and the rest becomes culture. So you don’t need formal, 100% coverage across every umpire to influence games. Ie, do you hear anyone in the media strongly criticising the surface of the MCG after the Ed Sheeran concert, despite it being shiteful and contributing to injuries…? No. It’s become a cultural norm with all media outlets that you do not question umpiring decisions, OR ground quality in the afl. Do so, and your boss gets a quick phone call from AFL HQ, which is addressed with the offender immediately. This I have seen first hand, having worked in the industry.
So, you take away freedom of speech, and what does that become…? But I get that people feel triggered if something bigger is happening behind the scenes that they are too blind to see

Why do you even watch the game, if you think it's an orchestrated farce?

 

[cityslick1]

Why do you even watch the game, if you think it's an orchestrated farce?

Because I’m a fan of the sport and our club. Once again you don’t seem to able to separate the thought of corruption being present in the game, Vs the notion that the result of every game is fixed. It isn’t all or nothing or an orchestrated blanket approach. That would be too obvious. The truth, IMO, lies somewhere in between….

But that doesn’t change corruption in officiating being present in our game. And I would much rather it be clean

 

[Maggie5]

Think there will always be 3 or 4 questionable umpiring decisions with supporters however I don't think the solution is 4 umpires.

To my mind the pool of experienced umpires is not big enough and the game is too important to let them learn on the job. An alternative is if they they going to stick with 4, keep them together and not change.

Or bring it back to two and give more responsibility to the boundary/goal umpires.

 

[76woodenspooners]

Some of you lot need to touch stop smoking grass.

EFA

 

[76woodenspooners]

Apparently you can get your employees to sign DNAs and have complete impunity to commit any crime you like.

To be fair, “umpiring games to make them even” probably comes more under the ‘IP’ category than the ‘crime’ category.

 

[sideswipe]

What, you don’t think that peer pressure & keeping your job isn’t reason enough for people to be corrupted? Please. The afl know it’s a privileged industry to be involved in, and exploit that power regularly. I mentioned that employees of the afl want to stay in The big leagues and not be discarded to country football.
It’s not hard to influence the leaders in any workforce, and the rest becomes culture. So you don’t need formal, 100% coverage across every umpire to influence games. Ie, do you hear anyone in the media strongly criticising the surface of the MCG after the Ed Sheeran concert, despite it being shiteful and contributing to injuries…? No. It’s become a cultural norm with all media outlets that you do not question umpiring decisions, OR ground quality in the afl. Do so, and your boss gets a quick phone call from AFL HQ, which is addressed with the offender immediately. This I have seen first hand, having worked in the industry.
So, you take away freedom of speech, and what does that become…? But I get that people feel triggered if something bigger is happening behind the scenes that they are too blind to see

You could be onto something Slicky. Am sure you are aware the head of integrity and footy ops went to school for 8 years with the head of umpiring. And then they played in 6 ammo flags together. Both Richmond supporters. Definitely a cabal. Not much of a stretch to pull a few dozen umps in from there.


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[76woodenspooners]

2023 solution …

… get rid of the umpires altogether and replace them with a machine learning algorithm plugged into all the video feeds. Each week there is a full review of the ML’s decisions and an evolution of its training. Maybe flash the stadium lights when there is a free kick, and a Big Brothet voice over the stadium PA “Free kick against Collingwood”.

 

[legendstatus]

The one rule that still baffles me and now even more confusing, is when they pay and or don’t pay, holding the ball.



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[jonbe54]

To be fair, “umpiring games to make them even” probably comes more under the ‘IP’ category than the ‘crime’ category.

To be fair 76 it's match fixing plain and simple.

 

[Gone Critical]

What, you don’t think that peer pressure & keeping your job isn’t reason enough for people to be corrupted? Please. The afl know it’s a privileged industry to be involved in, and exploit that power regularly. I mentioned that employees of the afl want to stay in The big leagues and not be discarded to country football.
It’s not hard to influence the leaders in any workforce, and the rest becomes culture. So you don’t need formal, 100% coverage across every umpire to influence games. Ie, do you hear anyone in the media strongly criticising the surface of the MCG after the Ed Sheeran concert, despite it being shiteful and contributing to injuries…? No. It’s become a cultural norm with all media outlets that you do not question umpiring decisions, OR ground quality in the afl. Do so, and your boss gets a quick phone call from AFL HQ, which is addressed with the offender immediately. This I have seen first hand, having worked in the industry.
So, you take away freedom of speech, and what does that become…? But I get that people feel triggered if something bigger is happening behind the scenes that they are too blind to see

Absolutely its not enough.

Take a Brett Rosebury, senior operations accountant at Ticketmaster according to Wiki with a second income from umpiring. He is getting Grand Finals etc so must be in on your scheme. If this existed you think Brett is going to put his reputation and his long term profession on the line because someone like the head of umpires says unless you get involved with our match fixing forget finals and you may get a trip back to the country leagues. You cannot believe that, at least I hope you dont.

Not sure anyone is triggered just incredulous that some may believe such far fetched stories.