Winless In Seattle
Steve Sauro
Elliott SmithBloody Umpires
September 9th 2008 02:56
Crap umpiring is ruining the AFL. It needs to be said, preferably by someone with more clout than your humble complainer – say, the CEO – but we know that won’t happen. Umpires have become an unduly protected species, with even media commentators mostly barred from offering criticism, lest they upset anyone.
The fault for the deplorable state of umpiring in this fair game of ours lies squarely with the AFL. How can a professional sports league include rules as impossible to accurately interpret as “deliberately” putting the ball over the boundary? That rule is probably the one I find most frustrating, especially since I don’t think it needs to exist. So what if they put it over deliberately? If it’s on the full, it’s a free – if it’s tapped over, it’s a throw-in. Simple enough, isn’t it?
Overcomplicating the game is bad enough, but the overzealousness of the fabled Match Review Panel ® is truly breathtaking. How many good players have copped suspensions or lost Brownlow eligibility this year, for things that wouldn’t earn you a detention if you did it during PE?
[The Grumpy Traveller has been given 79 demerit points for this article.]
The fault for the deplorable state of umpiring in this fair game of ours lies squarely with the AFL. How can a professional sports league include rules as impossible to accurately interpret as “deliberately” putting the ball over the boundary? That rule is probably the one I find most frustrating, especially since I don’t think it needs to exist. So what if they put it over deliberately? If it’s on the full, it’s a free – if it’s tapped over, it’s a throw-in. Simple enough, isn’t it?
Overcomplicating the game is bad enough, but the overzealousness of the fabled Match Review Panel ® is truly breathtaking. How many good players have copped suspensions or lost Brownlow eligibility this year, for things that wouldn’t earn you a detention if you did it during PE?
[The Grumpy Traveller has been given 79 demerit points for this article.]
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