On the weekend, an AFL player playing down in the VFL, accidentally ran into the field umpire and knocked him over. It looked pretty funny on TV, but in recent years there have been a few of these incidents and the players have been penalized for it.
Last night this player was given a week’s break by the tribunal, which he probably thinks is a little unfair. However, it is important to protect the umpire or referee in any sport. To do their job properly, they have to be close to the play without getting involved in it. The players and umpires alike need to do whatever it takes to keep that barrier.
Another AFL umpiring incident this week had the field umpire apparently swearing at a player. Even though the umpire denies it, if swearing at the player was required to get his point across then I have no problems with it. If an umpire does a good job, no one notices.
So I guess that means in both of these incidents some of the blame must go to the umpire.
Related Pages: AFL
