Kennett Says It Better Than Anyone – Heffernan’s Spray

To be honest, with the standard of umpiring this year, they’ve got off pretty lightly not featuring in this column until Round 6. The main reason for that is the umpires are always an easy target to take a pot shot at. The other is that I’ve been wrestling with who is really at fault for the ridiculous decisions and inconsistency we all have to put up with every week.

Finally, I’ve made up my mind that generally, it’s not the umpires we should be blaming. Sure, there’s the odd one who thinks he’s bigger than the game (see ‘Razor’ Ray Chamberlain – any umpire who has a nickname clearly is seeking more notoriety than his job should allow), but most of them are trying to make do with what they’re instructed to do. Really, the blame should lie with the AFL, its Rules Committee, and the umpire’s boss Jeff Gieschen.

With more and more rules, featuring more and more interpretations – really who can blame the umpires for not getting things right?

In his letter this week to the AFL, Hawks President Jeff Kennett has completely nailed the problem with umpiring in our great game. He was also rewarded with a 5g fine for his efforts. But seeing he said it better than anyone, I thought I’d repeat his comments here.

In regard to the incompetence of umpiring this year, Kennett lays the blame squarely at the AFL…

This is not necessarily the umpires’ fault alone but the result of regular rule changes by the AFL

Totally spot on. Every year the AFL adds new rules, and they’re not clear either – they all rely on the umpire’s interpretations, which is a recipe for inconsistent disaster. Take the rushed behind rule this year. We’re into Round 6, and still no one is really clear on this one. Daniel Pratt definitely wasn’t. Any wonder when the rule is worded as below?

15.12 FREE KICK – DELIBERATE RUSHED BEHINDS
A Free Kick shall be awarded against a Player from the defending Team who intentionally Kicks, Handballs or forces the football over the attacking Team’s Goal Line or Behind Line or onto one of the attacking Team’s Goal Posts. In assessing whether a Free Kick should be awarded under this Law, the field Umpire shall give the benefit of the doubt to the Defender. A Free Kick awarded under this Law shall be taken at the point where the football crossed the Goal Line or Behind Line or from the relevant Goal Post.
Interpretation:
When an Umpire is determining whether to award a free kick for a deliberate rushed behind the considerations are:
• What is the player’s intention?
• Is the player contesting the ball?
• What is the degree of pressure the player is under?
• Was there a team mate in the vicinity of where the ball crossed the scoring line?
For clarification:
• Players who are contesting the ball in a marking contest or in general play may punch or knock the ball away from their opponents to prevent them from gaining possession of the football or from scoring. This will not be deemed to be deliberately rushed.
• Where a player is in possession of the football and is tackled near the scoring line, he must dispose of or attempt to dispose of the ball in complying with the laws of the game. A player will receive the benefit of the doubt in this situation.

Confused? Well apparently as long as you don’t do a Joel Bowden, you’ll be fine. But it just isn’t clear – and that’s the problem.

But that’s not the only problem. For a while I’ve harped on the fact that umpires are too big a part of the game. Kennett again hit the mark with this passage:

A good umpire should aspire to unnoticed perfection.

The AFL has made this almost impossible for umpires today.

It is interesting and again factual, that soccer, the most popular and professional code of football in the world, do not introduce rule changes annually, and do not ‘mike’ their umpires.

The practice set by world soccer allows for greater understanding, knowledge and comfort of the game and its rules, by umpires, coaches, players, supporters and commentators – and even Presidents.

You get that wonderful ingredient of simplicity of application.

It would not be a bad example for the AFL to follow.

By removing the microphone from umpires you would reduce the public focus on them, you would also eliminate the intrusion that their running commentary often creates when watching a television broadcast.

You might even consider removing the numbers from umpires backs – numbers are worn by players. If you think necessary replace them with their names to distinguish a player from an umpire. But again in soccer there are no numbers and no names. Why? To leave the umpire as anonymous as possible.

It is AFL policy that has singled out umpires to be more than unnoticed professionals.

That first sentence is the best description of an umpire’s job I have ever heard. Unnoticed perfection.

Instead, the AFL persists with

• Putting numbers on umpires’ backs
• Putting microphones on them
• Highlighting the up and comers with green shirts
• The infamous umpire trading cards (seriously who came up with this shit)

Notoriety and umpiring just don’t mix, yet the AFL doesn’t seem to get it.

In a perfect world, we could watch a game of footy, and the umps would only pay the obvious free kicks, the focus would be on the true stars, the players, and everyone would be happy.

In today’s world full of inconsistent interpretation, 50m penalties, free kick reversals and constant commentary from numbered men in green (if they are so worthy), the perfect world appears far, far away.