“too big a penalty”: 50-metre chaos reigns in first sign of umpire abuse crackdown

[bornadog]

Have the umps gone too far? More AFL meddling

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One of the major focal points out of Thursday night’s Carlton v Melbourne AAMI Community Series clash has been the amount of 50-metre penalties paid.

In their eventual five-point loss to the Blues at Marvel Stadium, the Demons gave away eight 50s, with six of those resulting in goals.

It came in the wake of the AFL’s crackdown on umpire abuse.

Some of the 50s seemed contentious with Dees players appearing to simply question the decision of the umpire or show frustration at their own actions in the contest.

It is human nature to feel frustrated or disappointed after something goes against you or if you make a mistake, which is presumably the mindset of those players who gave away the penalties.

In the aftermath of the chaos, Kane Cornes and David King discussed the clampdown, both suggesting 50 metres for a minor indiscretion is far too harsh.

“It’s too big a penalty,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.

“The 50-metre penalty is too big and if you’re going to concede six goals from 50s in a game of footy, game over and potentially a final over.

“I think we would all be in agreeance that if you directly abuse an umpire it should be paid a 50-metre penalty.

“But what happens if you’re frustrated in yourself or if the emotion is frustration.

“Christian Petracca gave away a free kick against Patty Cripps. Petracca clearly thought Cripps ducked into it and it was a 50-50. He just sort of grimaced within himself and clenched his fist, he was more disappointed with himself. 50, goal against.

“If that’s a final, are we going to cop that? I’m not, you can’t cop that.”

King weighed in, referencing a free kick Adam Tomlinson gave away to Harry McKay in the forward pocket for a slight nudge on the Blues forward.

“Define abuse. That is not abuse,” King said.

“If you look at an umpire, that shouldn’t be deemed abuse. Even what (Adam) Tomlinson did, ‘Oh, you can’t be paying that’. He’s thinking, ‘I’ve done everything right as a defender, ok I’ve nudged Harry McKay under the ball and I’ve given away a free kick. I’m looking at the screen, what did I get wrong?’ He’s frustrated with himself and he was frustrated with the umpire, but he’s not abusing him.

“Petracca looked at the umpire, he looked at him.”

Cornes fears that this could end any type of communication between players and umpires.

“In that instance with Tomlinson, you’re not ever thinking the umpire is going to change his decision, but you’re looking for a bit of guidance,” Cornes added.

“‘So umpie, if this happens next time and I just do that, is that allowed?’ But you can’t have the interaction.

“Essentially what you’re saying is there is no interaction. If I was a coach, I’d say do not look, do not talk, do not interact with an umpire.

“That’s a nice nuance in the game that we’ve lost. ‘Razor’ Ray (Chamberlain) gives back as good as he gets. Is he not allowed to talk to the players?”

King added: “I don’t want to hear from him. If you’re not allowed to talk to the umpire or even look at them, if you can’t do that, don’t get involved in conversations.

“The conversation between player and umpire is over.”

King believes the new stance from the AFL has simply created another “grey area” in a game which is already too hard to adjudicate.

“This is just creating another great area,” he said.

“This is what worries me. The job is hard enough for the umpires and we say, ‘Listen, by the way, now you’re going to have to judge whether it’s dissent, whether it’s abuse and pay a 50-metre penalty’.

“So if they get it wrong, if they get two of them wrong in a game or in a round, it’s going to cause chaos.”

Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks joined Cornes and King on SEN Breakfast with the game fresh in his mind.

He can see both sides of the story, and is happy umpire abuse is being addressed, but was careful not to delve too far into the topic.

“It’s a really tough one, because I completely understand what we’re trying to do as a code and what the AFL is doing here,” Nicks said.

“What they’re trying to do is right. Abuse to umpires or throwing hands around, what we’ve seen over the years, it’s probably got to the point where we can ask some questions about it. Which we’re doing.

“What we do with these players, and this is the toughest part with all of it, is we amp these guys up, we get the blood pumping, we ask them to compete, we ask them to crash in harder for longer. The game is a physical game and emotions are high.

“You even see it in the stands, people come to the footy to release emotion, it’s entertainment.

“I sit on the fence only because it’s going to be so tough to switch their emotion on and off.

“I watched a few last night where I didn’t think there was a lot in it, but I also understand it’s not a good look for our game when umpires are being abused.

“It’s a tough one where I can’t give you something one way or the other so I’m mindful of what I do say.”

Will penalties for providing feedback for the umpires carry on into the season proper? Or is it just a stern message being sent to get things into line early?

We will know more as the AAMI Community Series continues this weekend and Round 1 approaches.

[bornadog]

I didn't watch the game, but saw some clips. The Petraca one is totally ridiculous, all he did was show some emotion and clench his fists. He wasn't even looking at the umpire.

I will be furious if this happens to us. 8x 50s is a joke.

[EasternWest]

I didn't watch the game, but saw some clips. The Petraca one is totally ridiculous, all he did was show some emotion and clench his fists. He wasn't even looking at the umpire.

I will be furious if this happens to us. 8x 50s is a joke.

The Petracca one was clearly against renowned hard man and truly redpilled meat eating Tom McDonald, who was carrying on like an absolute goose at the umpire behind Petracca.

No doubt he was still stewing over Rita Panahi's most recent article.

[Axe Man]

Seems like a massive over correction from the umpiring department that will settle down and go back to normal after a couple of rounds, as these "crack downs" always seem to do. In the mean time I hope our players just keep their mouths shut.

Of course it's hard to know what is said, if it's simply questioning a decision without swearing or abuse then a 50 is ridiculous.

No surprise that those entitled Melbourne twats carried on when things weren't going their way though.

[MrMahatma]

6 goals from 50s, and if some of them weren't really there, then it puts a pretty different view on the match. I watched the last 40 mins of game time and Dees looked pretty good and had a fair few blokes out.

[chef]

Some talk Melbourne was purposely pushing the limits to test what they can get away with.

[divvydan]

Thought I'd take a look at the 50m penalties.

1. 50m x2. Not giving ball back quickly, running in front of player getting 50m, results in goal.
2. 50m for abuse (off ball by Gawn). Results in goal. Fisher was 30m nearly directly in front anyway.
3. 50m for abuse (Tomlinson). Results in goal. McKay was 15m out, tight angle, probably 50/50 kick becomes 100%
4. 50 for kicking ball away after free kick given. Results in goal
5. 50 for not giving ball back quickly. Nothing results from it
6. 50 for going over the mark. Nothing results from it.
7. 50 for abuse (Petracca/McDonald). Results in goal. Would not have been a goal otherwise.

All up. 5 goals total. The phrase 6 50's leading to goals is technically correct as one goal was from 2 50s but it's 5 goals total.
Of those, 3 goals for abuse. One of which, Gawn, no one had an issue with and almost certainly would've been a goal anyway. One 50/50 shot turned into a certainty from Tomlinson which was given more for body language than anything, seemed fairly clear to me at least. Final one was Petracca/McDonald, which was the only one that clearly created a goal. It's unclear from the vision who it was paid against. If TMac, seems fair decision, if Petracca, seems harsh.

As an aside, not giving the ball back straight away will probably end up being a more common 50. No longer can players hold onto the ball for a second or two asking whose free is it when it's clearly obvious.

[bornadog]

Thought I'd take a look at the 50m penalties.

1. 50m x2. Not giving ball back quickly, running in front of player getting 50m, results in goal.
2. 50m for abuse (off ball by Gawn). Results in goal. Fisher was 30m nearly directly in front anyway.
3. 50m for abuse (Tomlinson). Results in goal. McKay was 15m out, tight angle, probably 50/50 kick becomes 100%
4. 50 for kicking ball away after free kick given. Results in goal
5. 50 for not giving ball back quickly. Nothing results from it
6. 50 for going over the mark. Nothing results from it.
7. 50 for abuse (Petracca/McDonald). Results in goal. Would not have been a goal otherwise.

All up. 5 goals total. The phrase 6 50's leading to goals is technically correct as one goal was from 2 50s but it's 5 goals total.
Of those, 3 goals for abuse. One of which, Gawn, no one had an issue with and almost certainly would've been a goal anyway. One 50/50 shot turned into a certainty from Tomlinson which was given more for body language than anything, seemed fairly clear to me at least. Final one was Petracca/McDonald, which was the only one that clearly created a goal. It's unclear from the vision who it was paid against. If TMac, seems fair decision, if Petracca, seems harsh.

As an aside, not giving the ball back straight away will probably end up being a more common 50. No longer can players hold onto the ball for a second or two asking whose free is it when it's clearly obvious.

Thanks for the summary. Looks like they were all there. Hopefully our guys learn from this.

Melbourne are very undisciplined and the coach should tear strips off them.

[Mantis]

Thanks for the summary. Looks like they were all there. Hopefully our guys learn from this.

Melbourne are very undisciplined and the coach should tear strips off them.

Are or were?

Given their game style I think they're as disciplined as anyone in the way they set-up the ground, but do have a number of players who push the limits/ are chirpy.

[mjp]

The sooking at the umpires has been out of control.

I 100% hate the NBA and pretty much all major soccer competitions for not sorting this out...it is a blight on the game. The whistle blows? Look at which way he points his arm and run in the OTHER direction.

Honestly. Some of the carry on last year in particular was embarrasing.

As for Petracca - not only does he complain to the umpires, he actually uses the hand signals for 'Holding the Ball' frequently during a game...you're not the umpire mate.

Sure - I've nothing against a "Can't you see he's holding me" during a stoppage etc, but Gawn mouthing off as he ran off the field after Fisher had taken what is commonly referred too as "an uncontested mark" inside 50m does no-one any favours. And if you think juniors don't pick up on this stuff, well, they 100% do...

[The Underdog]

The sooking at the umpires has been out of control.

I 100% hate the NBA and pretty much all major soccer competitions for not sorting this out...it is a blight on the game. The whistle blows? Look at which way he points his arm and run in the OTHER direction.

Honestly. Some of the carry on last year in particular was embarrasing.

As for Petracca - not only does he complain to the umpires, he actually uses the hand signals for 'Holding the Ball' frequently during a game...you're not the umpire mate.

Sure - I've nothing against a "Can't you see he's holding me" during a stoppage etc, but Gawn mouthing off as he ran off the field after Fisher had taken what is commonly referred too as "an uncontested mark" inside 50m does no-one any favours. And if you think juniors don't pick up on this stuff, well, they 100% do...

Players making umpiring signals is my absolute pet hate.

[Mofra]

The sooking at the umpires has been out of control.

I 100% hate the NBA and pretty much all major soccer competitions for not sorting this out...it is a blight on the game. The whistle blows? Look at which way he points his arm and run in the OTHER direction.

Honestly. Some of the carry on last year in particular was embarrasing.

As for Petracca - not only does he complain to the umpires, he actually uses the hand signals for 'Holding the Ball' frequently during a game...you're not the umpire mate.

Sure - I've nothing against a "Can't you see he's holding me" during a stoppage etc, but Gawn mouthing off as he ran off the field after Fisher had taken what is commonly referred too as "an uncontested mark" inside 50m does no-one any favours. And if you think juniors don't pick up on this stuff, well, they 100% do...

The contrast with the way refs are treated in Union is stark.

[hujsh]

The sooking at the umpires has been out of control.

I 100% hate the NBA and pretty much all major soccer competitions for not sorting this out...it is a blight on the game. The whistle blows? Look at which way he points his arm and run in the OTHER direction.

Honestly. Some of the carry on last year in particular was embarrasing.

As for Petracca - not only does he complain to the umpires, he actually uses the hand signals for 'Holding the Ball' frequently during a game...you're not the umpire mate.

Sure - I've nothing against a "Can't you see he's holding me" during a stoppage etc, but Gawn mouthing off as he ran off the field after Fisher had taken what is commonly referred too as "an uncontested mark" inside 50m does no-one any favours. And if you think juniors don't pick up on this stuff, well, they 100% do...

People celebrated Gawn talking down to the umps last year. Annoying.

[boydogs]

It's a worry when there are 8 x 50's against one team in a preseason game. What happens in a final when they're really going at it? Save it for the over the top ones

[EasternWest]

The sooking at the umpires has been out of control.

I 100% hate the NBA and pretty much all major soccer competitions for not sorting this out...it is a blight on the game...

You're wrong about this. There's nothing I like better than Lebron James driving to the hole and yelling "HEY" at the ref. Every. Single. Time.

I want to save it as my ringtone.