White Line Fever: Dissent crackdown the right call

I'm tipping not many will agree after the bulk of the commentary I've read online this week. Maybe it's not perfect. But something has to be done.

We're 6000 umpires short at community level across the country. Warrnambool isn't in a terrible spot - the Warrnambool and District Football Umpires Association revealed there'd been an increase in 2022 - but that's not to say that's the case everywhere.

So any move to stamp out abuse is welcomed in my book.

"There's no acceptable level of dissent towards umpires. If players show demonstrable dissent, then they're risking a free kick or 50m penalty," AFL general manager of football Brad Scott said.

"As to what that level looks like, that's up to the umpire to decide, but we've been really clear on this. We have unanimous support from all the clubs, all the leaders of clubs, and in fact, they want us to pay these free kicks."

Where it gets a little tricky is that players putting their arms out is deemed dissent. That's a bitter pill to swallow. People who know sport - as Scott clearly does after a decade coaching North Melbourne and a 168-game playing career - know it's an instinctive, emotional game.

Any question of a decision? Fine. That can be dissent. Abuse? Fine. That's never acceptable. But maybe penalising players with a 50-metre penalty for putting their arms out or reacting silently is a bit much.

The trouble is now, the AFL and its umpires will have to live by the sword and die by the sword. There's not really any going back.

But all in all, I think the stand is commendable. I wrote a piece in 2021 suggesting our attitude and culture around umpiring in the AFL needs to change. I still think it does.

While not perfect, this move is a step in the right direction.

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