Apr 27th, 2019

Apr 27th, 2019

Make no mistake, behind closed doors the AFL has got to be loving this current booing controversy that has engulfed the sport.

For some senseless reason, a fan activity that is common literally all over the world in every single sporting code and can be heard in every single sporting arena has turned into a hot-button topic for the AFL community.

After Geelong legend Gary Ablett was roundly booed by Hawthorn fans during the Easter Monday clash between the two sides, the issue reared its ugly head in the media once again after a thrilling ANZAC Day clash between Essendon and Collingwood.

Essendon fans, clearly incensed by what was perhaps the most diabolical exhibition of AFL umpiring in the last decade, booed non-stop for almost half an hour after the siren, including when Collingwood skipper and Anzac Medallist Scott Pendlebury took to the mic.

It was unfortunate that the booing controversy overshadowed what was without doubt the most thrilling game of the AFL season, but it also resulted in the AFL community once again focusing on the wrong issue.

Pendlebury was outstanding all day for the Magpies and was named the Anzac Medallist for his efforts (AAP)

The problem in the league isn’t booing. Booing happens in every single sport all over the world. The problem in the league is that time and time again the umpires have been found wanting, not just on ANZAC Day but to start the season as a whole.

The fact of the matter is the umpiring so far this season has been inept at best and simply shambolic at worst.

This isn’t just Essendon people whining about calls against Essendon either. One of the more egregious incidents in the second half involved Magpies defender Tom Langdon taking a clear mark that was called to play on.

The Bombers also benefited from a couple of dubious calls that resulted in goals to Matt Guelfi and Mark Baguley.

However, the community making booing an issue once again allows the AFL to escape any bit of accountability that it might have to exhibit in order to fix the real problem at hand: the sub-par umpiring.

Unfortunately, the league has shown its true colours once again by doubling down on the decisions that were clear to every single player on the field bar the umpire.

Essendon fans did not relent while booing, even during Scott Pendlebury's post-match speech (AAP)

The umpire in the middle of the cauldron on ANZAC Day was Shaun Ryan, and unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, Ryan refused to take any accountability after his showing.

“There was definitely some errors, but the five in the last quarter were not errors,” Ryan told SEN on Saturday.

“Upon review, they were the correct calls.”

It must be said that umpires have an incredibly tough job, nobody doubts that one bit. No one is expecting them to get every single decision right. This is not a video game.

However, there are some calls that just require common sense. If the 36 players on the field have all stopped, it is probably a fair sign that the decision should have been made.

It is easy to wait days after the match and to watch every decision in slow motion and pick up that maybe the player had got a feather on the ball. Or maybe you could just admit that you got the calls wrong.

However, maybe this isn’t the umpires’ fault at all.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley stood up for Pendlebury and condemned fans for booing (AAP)

A large number of the AFL’s umpires are currently part-timers and Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson suggested that umpires becoming full-time professionals may go some way to eradicating the “grey areas” of what still remains a remarkably complex game, particularly with the introduction of new rules in the off-season.

“I think it’s a part of the game that everything else has gone professional, and it’s an area of the game where I think we’re probably lagging behind (other sports),” Clarkson said.

“I feel like there’s a role for full-time umpires. We’d have to phase that in over a period of time. I think the AFL has trialled it with some guys going full-time in the umpiring division over the last two or three years.

“Whether it gets to the stage where all umpires are full-time, I’m not too sure, but I’d like to see it pushed that way.

“People argue whether or not there’s justification for doing it, given the amount of hours in the week and ‘what would they do?’, but there’s plenty to do. (That includes) coming out to clubs, researching vision and trying to stay ahead of what’s going on in the game, rather than being reactive to it all the time.”

NBA superstar LeBron James was roundly booed every time he touched the ball in his return to Cleveland with Miami (AAP)

Following the awkward scenes that followed the ANZAC Day clash, the discussion immediately turned to booing and whether it should be banned from the sport entirely.

Talk about an over-reaction. I’d guess that the individuals who think booing should be banned probably weren’t at Quicken Loans Arena the night LeBron James first returned to Cleveland to play a game in a Miami Heat jersey.

An athlete getting booed inside a sporting arena is a relative non-story anywhere in the world as opposed to here in Australia.

If you want to get rid of booing in sport, you might as well play games in closed arenas.

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge was on the money when he told The Age that we had become “a bit of a nanny state” over the entire booing saga.

“I see the lighter side of it, I mean the game is tribal, both supporters of both teams are there absolutely emotionally drained at the end of the day and I just think booing is part of the game, it’s not ideal, but it’s just there,” Beveridge said.

Want to know how to get rid of the boos from Essendon fans on ANZAC Day? Maybe just get the decisions right. That’s the one thing that the AFL actually can control as opposed to trying to control how fans express themselves.

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan said he would not force fans to stop booing at football matches (AAP)

To his credit, AFL boss Gillon McLachlan said as much following the match, telling 3AW that he would not tell people not to boo on Friday.

“Yesterday I think it was an emotional response to the loss at the end of the day and all the circumstances that built up to the loss,” McLachlan said.

“I don’t think they were personally booing Scott Pendlebury. I think they were booing the situation.

“That’s my context of the booing and I understand it’s an emotional game, and that’s the response.”

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley was roundly applauded across the AFL community for taking to the mic and uttering his now famous line of, “Shame on those who booed a champion” which was immediately followed by a round condemnation of all Essendon people as being disgusting.

It was great that the AFL community came to Ablett's support when he was booed by Hawthorn fans (AAP)

While Buckley was excellent, the cold, harsh truth is that the Magpies’ coach taking a stance was about six years too late.

Where was Buckley’s strong stance against booing champions when his own fanbase booed Sydney Swans legend Adam Goodes relentlessly for being proud of his heritage?

Where was Buckley’s strong stance in Round 3 when his fanbase again booed West Coast midfielder Dom Sheed for literally kicking a goal against them?

Where was Buckley last night as Kangaroo Jasper Pittard was booed roundly in his return to Adelaide by Port Adelaide fans?

It is important when discussing this sort of issue that nuance and context is applied, and for whatever reason it wasn’t on ANZAC Day.

Booing as a result of frustration because the umpires have not done their job to a suitable manner is not even in the same stratosphere as booing a proud Indigenous man who decided to take a stance against racism, an issue that continues to be a problem in our society as much the country as a whole wishes it wasn’t.

Sydney Swans star Adam Goodes could have used the support given to Ablett and Pendlebury (AAP)

It is heartening to see the AFL community come to the quick defence of both Ablett and Pendlebury, who are two of the good guys in the league. But at the same time, it begs the question: why wasn’t the same strong reaction afforded to Goodes?

Banning booing isn’t the answer, getting rid of racial vilification as well as sexist comments aimed at our AFLW stars is. To the AFL community’s credit, since the unfortunate Goodes incident, we have become much more aware, as shown by the swift reaction to vile Instagram comments aimed at Liam Ryan and Eddie Betts, not to mention the reaction to Tayla Harris.

The fact of the matter is that what happened with Goodes was what was truly disgusting and will forever be a black mark on our proud game.

That Ablett and Pendlebury were roundly defended is perhaps the only positive to come out of the unfortunate Goodes incident.

Out of the debacle that was the umpiring on ANZAC Day, maybe the good that comes out of it is that the AFL community finally decides to focus on the issue that is actually an issue.