An umpire’s job is to apply the rules. But many of us want our officials to have a better feel for the game’s big moments.When the weather turns, the injuries mount and the big grind sets in, you can set your footballing calendar to three things. There’ll be a call for the return of State of Origin football. There’ll be a discussion about congestion and interchange caps. And there’ll be an industry-wide conversation about umpiring.
For a start, the 50-metre penalty against Laitham Vandermeer on Thursday night was a shocker. It was the full stop and the air sucker on what had been an entertaining, high standard and still-live contest. If he arrived a femtosecond late to the contest, the penalty was grossly disproportionate to the crime.
Besides, if you’re going to enforce a rule that hasn’t been consistently adhered to all year, fans are going to be up in arms. A week earlier, the scientists in the Fox Footy lab ascertained that Izak Rankine had overstepped his quota. Fair play to the umpire for being such a quick and accurate counter. But the frustration relates to the hundreds of times similar incidents weren’t called out, and the sudden crackdown in the final seconds of a crucial game.
In local junior footy, and at the professional level, a massive problem is fans who think they know the rules, but are completely ignorant of them. It’s a problem in commentary boxes, press boxes and grandstands. It’s exacerbated by the likes of coach-turned-pundit Grant Thomas on social media, by passive-aggressive coaches , and by having mic’d-up umpires barking and squawking on the broadcast.
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