If they have a bad game, put them in stocks and let us throw rotten fruit at them
Also don’t let that kid from the crowd that loves the umpires and dresses up as an Ump when he goes to the footy ever become an umpire. He will ruin the sport and may trigger the apocalypse if they ever let him officiate a match
Also don't let that kid from the crowd that loves the umpires and dresses up as an Ump when he goes to the footy ever become an umpire. He will ruin the sport and may trigger the apocalypse if they ever let him officiate a match
W…T…F…was with that. Was that the AFL’s way to make the umpires more likeable? Not only did I hate umpires more, it made me want to punch an innocent child full fledge in the face. And I’m a loving father.
Make them truly independent from afl. clearer rules and umpires can be dropped from poor performance.
Oh and on the number on the back thing. Is it so we can humanise them? Learn their little names. Have little relationships with these little battlers?
When was the last time you heard a member of the crowd yell, “GOOD CALL UMPIRE 36”, or at pub later going over a game with your mates, “but i tell you what, wasn’t umpire 15 good tonight”.
Putting numbers on the umpire simply draws more attention to their bad umpiring. You even get members of the crowd say, “that ■■■■■■ umpire 22, whats that dIckheads name…” looks up umpire d!ckhead in the record, “AH THAT UMPIRE D!CKHEAD CRUCIFIES US EVERY GAME”.
So yea, we get to know our umpires alright.
Umpire listing: 1. D.Head, 2. D.Head, 3. D.Head, 4. D.Head, 5. D.Head, 6. D.Head. etc…
Ask the players to play within the rules and not cheat and then we wouldn’t need umpires.
We should have farkin rules first, though.
The issue is they have too many interpretations to think about.Remember when hands in the back was a thing?
Remember when chopping the arms was a thing?
Remember a few weeks ago when they paid deliberate rushed behinds?
Remember when they were hot on deliberate out of bounds?
Remember if you take a player out so he can’t run on and get a handball it’s meant to be 50? Not anymore.Every few weeks it changes, every few weeks they are hot on one interpretation or another and it just leads to umpires having to overthink things.
Instead of umpiring to the “feel” they are having to think of a thousand different things before coming to a ruling. The rules should be black and white because the game is so fast they will miss things.
There is also no doubt of “favouritism”. Umpires have come out this week talking about how Hawks invited them to pre-season training where they went for dinner and played bowls etc. How that is allowed I’ll never fkn know because it raises a million questions in regards to ethics. If a journalist can’t accept gifts how can somebody who is meant to impartially umpire games?
There are HUGE issues with the umpiring at the moment. The afl needs to come out and acknowledge it and work to fix it.
Really. Unbelievable. If its true that so goes against the grain. They are suppose to be their own entity and not mix with teams. I wonder if any “gifts” are sent to any of the umpires after or before a match…or at all!!! Now that would be something wouldn’t it?
You remember the “London game”? Characters don’t change - they just learn to be a bit more subtle.
Oh and on the number on the back thing. Is it so we can humanise them? Learn their little names. Have little relationships with these little battlers?When was the last time you heard a member of the crowd yell, “GOOD CALL UMPIRE 36”, or at pub later going over a game with your mates, “but i tell you what, wasn’t umpire 15 good tonight”.
Putting numbers on the umpire simply draws more attention to their bad umpiring. You even get members of the crowd say, “that ■■■■■■ umpire 22, whats that dIckheads name…” looks up umpire d!ckhead in the record, “AH THAT UMPIRE D!CKHEAD CRUCIFIES US EVERY GAME”.
So yea, we get to know our umpires alright.
Umpired myself for a few years in my younger days. Was always taught that if people said little/nothing towards or about you you’d done your job very well. The less noticeable you are the better job you’ve likely done.
Further to HM's point, perhaps separate the umpires from the AFL. Make them an organisation of their own that could be criticised, but that could also push back against the AFL.Instead of the league creating stupid “interpretations”, the umpires having to do their best to adjudicate them and then the league just rushing to their defence every time.
Some amount of back and forth might be helpful. I have sympathy for the umpires in the cold light of day… Just not on game day.
I think this is a key point: the AFL utilises umpiring as something to hide behind. The umpires are blamed for a decision in an area that has become so grey that there can be no consistency in any realistic sense - but if you try to engage these grey areas, the ones that the AFL have introduced into the game, the same ones that make it so hard for umpires - the response you get is: “hey don’t blame the umpires!” Hang on you tools, we aren’t all blaming the umpires, some of us are asking why you are making the game, and umpiring, so ■■■■■■■ complicated! Amongst other things.
Ask the players to play within the rules and not cheat and then we wouldn't need umpires.EXACTLY!!!
lets go a step further, remove the crowd so the players are only playing like we would as kids and adjudicate by consensus. if lindseys being a wanker everyone lets him know hes a wanker.
Ask the players to play within the rules and not cheat and then we wouldn't need umpires.EXACTLY!!!lets go a step further, remove the crowd so the players are only playing like we would as kids and adjudicate by consensus. if lindseys being a wanker everyone lets him know hes a wanker.
It’s all about score, really.
Why have scores?? That’s where the problem lies.
Just play the game and then, instead of at the start, flip a coin at the end for the winner. No umpires required.
I still can’t believe how that handball was not deliberate… especially after how the Sydney/Hawthorn and Geelong/Freo games were being adjudicated.
Words can’t describe how much i hate the ■■■■■■■ umpires.
The AFL has also set a dangerous precedent after saying the Firrito decision was the correct call.
How about just stripping back the rules to the way it was in the 80’s and early 90’s.
There are so many rules that no one can keep up with them…
Should start from the perspective that the players deserve better.
The competition deserves better.
It also has implications for gambling
Pay peanuts get monkeys.
I assume it is not a full time role and it should be. These guys should be umpiring and only umpiring. They should be paid accordingly
They should be travelling all around the country to umpire. In fact they probably shouldn’t be allowed to umpire in their home state more than X amount of games per year.
They should be anonymous. They should be part of the field.
I think they should continue to explain on field why they made a decision.
I think the panel should come out from time to time and admit they make mistakes.
The rules need a root and branch reform to get back to less discretion.
It is very difficult to decide intent in a split second. That is why juries deliberate.
I have never played football so I have no idea of the constraints on the field but it seems to me they become too much part of the play.
Is it possible to have one or two umpires doing every bounce and throw in and that is all they do?
Then have two field umpires making the calls?
Can they run up and down the side of the ground (not as far out as the boundary) but somewhere so they are not continually in the middle of the ground in the thick of things? Soccer umpires keep to the side (a much smaller ground I know) but I am trying to think of a way that they become less a part of the play.
I don’t think they should be known until the game is about to start. Obviously there would be a few implications for travel but I think it could be done.
The AFL controlled media should either critically evaluate what the umpires are doing while the game is on, or not mention them at all. One or the other. This nickname bullshit is all a bit too jolly and incestuous for me.
It is unprofessional.
And as for the umpiring fraternity socialising with the premiers, that is just ridiculous and shouldn’t happen on a formal basis.
Informally perhaps, on a one on one basis, people have friends.
I think they should have an online poll after every game, asking if the Umpires did a good job or not.
And a comments section after the poll.
That would help.
They make good coin, they should be able to be critiqued
…
The first thing the AFL should do is stop instructing the maggots to get the results they want from the games. (Do you remember who it was that said “Leave out the bits we don’t need”?).
It is obvious that this is what happens. Why else would that maggot yesterday not pay a free kick to Joe when he got whacked in the head? It was only after Joe looked like he was knocked unconscious that the maggot thought it would “not be a good look” if he didn’t pay it. Even the communication specialists calling the game said that the maggot was not going to pay the free till after that.
And that is just one example of many in one game among many.
I believe one of the big problems these days is the way the umpires are put on a very high pedestal by the AFL that this has gone to the head of a number of the umps themselves.
I believe that there is a core group of them that believe that they are above the players that reflects in the condescending manner in which they converse with the players during a match.
So often when I’ve watched a game on tv and the ump is mic’d up, you’ll hear when there’s a free kick payed and an offending player has a gripe about it to the ump, the umpire would talk down to said player and admonish him as if he were a naughty little schoolboy and he were the strict headmaster about to punish him, and this coming from an umpire not much older, if at all, than the player themselves.
Also when they’re telling a player off they’ll use their first name in a somewhat authoritarian manner designed to almost belittle the player in front of their peers as if to prove to everyone around them that they are in control and no one is to question them or their decisions at all.
I believe that what we’re seeing now is a serious diconnect being developed between the players/coaches and the umpiring fraternity as a result of this attitude of the umpires with an us-against-them mentality being played out.
You can see now in the body language of players and recent behaviours of them (Mark Jamar swearing report) that they are losing respect for the umpires as they are becoming more and more frustrated with the inconsistent and confusing decisions that they pay every week.
The umpires themselves have become too precious too and just love hiding behind the AFL’s apron strings whenever they get criticised or are called to account over the bewildering decisions that they make, such as the Dempsey bump on Gaff a few weeks ago and subsequent weird ■■■ explaination from Luke Ball defending them.
All this does is create even more of a distrust and contempt towards them from the general football public.
I’ve never had a problem with umpires being easily identified through wearing numbers on their backs and being introduced as they’re walking out on the ground as it would give me an idea of what to expect so that I could prepare and brace myself for how the match would possibly pan out for us.
I also believe that the Hird/Scott McLaren incident in 2004 was probably the start of the industry paying a lot more attention to umpires and turning them into the celebrities that they think that they are today.
This incident I reckon helped humanise the farkers with the footy going public and helped them gain a lot of sympathy for the ‘difficult’ job they do.
Ever since then we’ve had a raft of attention seeking umpires who have enjoyed the limelight of being front and centre of the game.
Umpires such as “Razor” Ray Chamberlain, Steve “The Lawyer” Mc Burney, Peter “Mark of the Century” Carey, my personal favourite Matthew “I’m reporting you for using a rude word " Nichols and Scott " $20k Man” McLaren himself have all become personalities in their own right due to building high profiles from their own glaring incompetences.
I pine for the days of a Glenn James in the eighties with the rapport and mutual respect that he had from the players, or a Matthew James from the late nineties through the early noughties who would give a clear and concise explaination for his decisions, of which players seemed to accept, and quickly got on with the game.
The AFL’s massive insecurities in not being able to attract umpires into grassroots football due to the constant criticism towards them is also a furphy when we now have large numbers of young females taking up umpiring at junior, amateur and even state league levels.
I’ve honestly never seen the game at such a low ebb due to the way the game is being umpired as what we’re seeing now.
If the AFL aren’t careful and just let this problem fester, fans are going to, if they haven’t already started to, begin to vote with their feet and start switching off in droves due to their frustrations.