Almanac Footy: The Muse is musing on respect for umpires
Well…
After a magnificent run of weather, the first taste of winter hit with a vengeance today. For me it’s a difficult time of the year. So many decisions to make, shorts or track suit, tee shirt or hoodie, Abbotts Lager or Abbottsford Stout?
I compromised today. Track suit replaced the shorts but the lager wasn’t replaced by the stout and, after a couple of Abbotts Longnecks, I rolled a Capstan ready-rubbed and commenced to muse on respect for umpires. Firstly, far be it for me to be cynical but a Scott brother imploring us to respect umpires is akin to Putin imploring us to respect Mother Theresa. However, I must say I think the push to respect umpires is well overdue. Not sure how the AFL have instructed the umpires in regard to policing the respect rule but even the umps’ mothers would agree some of the decisions re ‘arms out’ this week were mystifying, to say the least, and wouldn’t stand the pub test.
So I should launch on the umpires now as the media are – jeez, if I hear Robbo on it one more time I will, to quote Terry Wallace, ‘throw up’.
In my view umpires deserve respect because without umpires we don’t have a game and, right now, we are short 6000 umpires across the state. Why would a teenager take up umpiring with an aspiration to reach the top when the immediate reward is perhaps $100 and an earful of abuse from fat-gutted fathers and foul-mouthed mums at a junior game?
I digress but one of the finest junior umpiring performances I witnessed was some years ago. I was walking my dogs on a Sunday morning at windswept Keilor Park and a junior game was in progress being controlled by a young tyro, perhaps thirteen years old, and a portly gentleman who I identified as Danny Carland who was not moving far from the centre square. The kid umpiring was being abused big time by a father who was apparently an official as he was sitting on the bench. After quarter time, I noticed that every time the kid gets abused it was Danny, who comes from a long line of umpires, who whistled a non free kick to the opposition team, sometimes from 100 metres away. After about ten minutes of this and three goals from non free kicks the elder statesman, who was now getting some serious abuse himself, wandered over to the boundary near the bench and said words to the effect of, ‘The kid is thirteen, he is doing his best and of course he is making mistakes just as all your players are. If you don’t shut up I will keep paying frees and you will lose by 20 goals.’
That’s my point: umpires at all levels deserve respect. Every week we watch a game and our immediate reaction to a lot of free kicks is ‘bullshit’. They show it from a different angle, ie the umpire angle, and it’s clearly an infringement. The good umps are perhaps earning 150k, maybe 200k, at AFL level and they are working day jobs as well but every mistake is put under the microscope. Conversely, every week I watch players who are full time professionals earning 500k, the majority of whom have had their arses wiped since they turned up at Aus Kick as a five-year-old and were identified as gifted.
They…
Miss targets with a kick 30 metres away;
Miss targets 5 metres away with a handball;
Drop chest marks;
Miss set shots 25 metres out from minimal angles.
Josh Dunkley, one of my favourite Bulldogs, has missed seven set shots from within 40 metres out thus far this year – not much media comment about that.
I could go on but do the media focus on that or do they focus yesterday on what was worse, Tom Hawkins effectively cheating with his dive or the umpire making a subsequent bad call on dissent?
Umpires earn less than players and they make far fewer mistakes than players so they are entitled to more than a little respect, albeit I suspect their cause is not helped by the flippy floppy interpretational guidelines they are given by the AFL who are heavily influenced by the flippy floppy media.
Regards,
Hayden Kelly
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Completely agree.
I played junior and senior footy and umpired junior and senior footy.
Copped abuse as an umpire from beyond the fence and from the players no matter their ages.
While umpiring senior footy, I was never threatened and never felt unsafe but there were times I didn’t go into the social club afterwards for a drink.
Hating the umpires is traditional – it is taught to us by whoever takes us to the footy as kids.
Simply, we already hate the umpires by the time we’re learning to kick.
It’s cultural – us against them.
It’s also damn hard.
Did that player stage or was he pushed in the back?
Did that footy go fourteen or fifteen metres?
Was the ball knocked out of his hands or did he drop it?
When I umpired I simply wanted to be ignored.
But everyone’s an expert and the first thing they can say in their outrage is abuse.
So I like the new measures. Way overdue.
Also completely agree. And you’re right Matt, the abuse is cultural and deeply ingrained. Yet this is exactly what the AFL have set out to change, and what’s more it’s working. Already after only a few rounds of local grassroots footy, from my well-placed vantage point the drop-off in abuse and general dissent has been major.
Very positive all round Muse.
1. Reform way overdue
2. AFL ‘antics’ are seen as OK at community level
3. Media just so full of itself.
Well said Hayden.
This year I’ve taken up umpiring in the local comp and at 62, I would prefer to do only one game per week, however we are so short of numbers Im umpiring 2 games every Saturday.
So far I have had no real issues with players showing disrespect. It’s been pretty good.
North Melbourne champions Keith Greig & Wayne Schimmelbusch played over 600 games between them. I probably watched about 400 of those games. I can’t recall either Keith or Shimma ever showing dissent or remonstrating with an umpire. It’s not hard to just shut up & get on with it.
Thx for your comments .
Youngy good to hear from albeit I doubt you are running as quickly on the footy field as you did at Stawell .
I have watched my local team Keilor twice this year in the Essendon District League and player dissent has been minimal . I don’t think there was 50m paid yesterday in a tough game as the players accepted the umpires rulings . Local umps seem to be applying the guidelines more practically as few wordless arms up after frees were let go yesterday and they are certainly not yelling ‘stand’ every time a player stands on the mark and the players were compliant on the need to stand .
Most pleasing is that spectators seem to have backed right off in regard to criticising umpires including those who need to have a beer in hand all day .