We all know umpiring our game is not easy – one fan’s holding the ball is another fan’s play on.
Each week, debate over umpiring decisions fills newspaper columns and generates countless hours of talkback radio.
We understand that there are a lot of grey areas in our game and that umpires, like the players, will make mistakes.
An infamous example was the umpiring during the 2019 ANZAC Day match, which demonstrated that there are fundamental issues that need to be resolved.
This is not to have a go at the AFL umpires, who do a difficult job in difficult circumstances.
As part of reforming the AFL, we need to get back to the umpires umpiring AFL matches according to the official Laws of the Game.
Nowhere in the Laws is there a “Rule of the Week” or an “Interpretation of the Week”.
By cracking down on a particular rule one week, and then ignoring it the next, the AFL is placing undue pressure on the umpires.
And we all saw the results of that on ANZAC Day.
Every player on the ground has stopped! Every player stopped and the umpire didn’t blow the whistle.
Brian Taylor
There was definitely some errors, but the 5 in the last quarter were not errors. Upon review, they were the correct calls.
AFL umpire Shaun Ryan
LINKS
Umpires tick off five touchy decisions late in Essendon vs Collingwood Anzac Day clash
ANZAC Day umpire breaks down final quarter decisions
