A number of current and former AFL stars believe umpires should not be the ones voting on the Brownlow Medal in the wake of the alleged betting scandal.
Former AFL umpire Dean Margetts said he was “unsettled” after current whistle-blower Michael Pell was one of four men arrested on Monday by the Victoria Police Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit, after suspicious round-by-round betting activity on the 2022 Brownlow Medal count.
Margetts, who umpire
“Unsettling is probably the biggest word that came to mind. It‘s something that in my 20 years as an AFL umpire I never experienced,” he told SEN WA.
“It’s a little bit like ‘Fight Club’. What’s the one rule of Fight Club guys? It’s that we never talk about Fight Club.
“That’s Brownlow Medal for us. We do our job and we treat it very seriously, but it’s one thing you never discuss.
“For this to come out, it’s a bit of a shock, and it’s probably unsettled 34 field umpires today as well.”
The offence of engaging in conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome is punishable by a sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment.
Pell was released pending enquiries on Monday but is expected to be charged on summons.
Margetts said there was no ambiguity whatsoever about Brownlow Medal betting for umpires.
“The umpires are absolutely grilled on our responsibilities, we get a handbook, which we have to read, sign off on it, our contracts are very clear,” he said.
“The AFL to their credit do a great job in educating not just players but umpires in what we can and can’t do. I guess from that point of view - and an AFL umpire can earn north of 100k a year - if this person potentially loses his contract, it’s a pretty significant penalty he’s going to face if it’s proven to be guilty.
“I don’t think the umpire involved can be putting his hand and say ‘no one told me’ because in my 20 years, I’ve been signing contracts, I had it quite clearly stated in all the agreements I’ve put my name to.”
Collingwood ruckman Mason Cox took to Twitter to weigh in on the situation, writing he was “confused as to why umpires decide the Brownlow.”
“You would think someone watching the game would have a better idea the impact someone has than someone that should be busy adjudicating the game live.”
AFL great Brendan Fevola said the issue was down to “one lone wolf” rather than a systemic issue regarding betting.
Still, Fevola claimed the voting was flawed.
“I never got any votes because they hated me,” he said on Fox FM.
“I kicked nine goals and didn’t get three votes, they’ve got an agenda.”
He argued the coaches should make the call.
“It should be up to the coaches from each team,” Fevola said.
“They give 10 votes to a player who is best on ground, which could be from either side. They (coaches) do it properly.”
That is the system currently in place for the coaches’ association award.
Brisbane veteran Dayne Zorko also backed changing the voting rules so umpires don’t make the call.
“I don’t know how the information gets out or who or what is involved, but it’s not a great look,” Zorko said on SEN.
“The social media stuff that I’ve been reading and sifting through is they’re saying this is another reason why umpires shouldn’t have to vote straight after the game. Leave it up to an expert panel to decide, don’t leave it up to the umpires and take that responsibility off them.
“I agree, I’d give it (Brownlow voting) to someone who has been watching the game and sitting up high and understands what’s happened throughout the whole game and decide from there.”
Former St Kilda coach Grant Thomas tweeted: “What an incredibly appropriate time to take Brownlow voting away from umpires (terribly inappropriate for a host of logical reasons) & appoint independent people assigned to every game to vote on most influential, impacting players (not just possessions & midfielders).”
Thomas’ view seems misguided given midfielders win essentially every AFL award which is based on the best players, so it’s unclear who these “independent people” would be and what reasons they would be basing their votes on.
While forwards and defenders being ignored is a common complaint by some, there are effectively no game-by-game awards or statistical systems that would see forwards and defenders winning over midfielders.
A midfielder has won the coaches’ award in every year since 2006 except one, this year seeing Clayton Oliver and Touk Miller tie for the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year crown.
