An umpire is an official in the sport of Australian rules football who adjudicates the game according to the "Laws Of The Game", the official handbook of Australian Rules Football. Umpiring the game of AFL across all leagues (professional, amateur or juniors) has been subject to long history of abuse, which in more recent times the AFL has taken steps to help stamp out.[1] [2]
Unlike many other codes of football, where the official is called a referee, in Australian rules football the officials are called umpires. Tom Wills, one of the founders of the Australian game, was the earliest known umpire of a football match in Australia.
At first the captains of both teams shared the duty of officiating games, but as the game became more professional in the 1880s, umpires became an important aspect of the game.
Banter and questioning the umpires decisions has been a feature of Australian rules football since the sport began. That questioning has at times become extreme, to the point where umpires have refused to umpire at some grounds.
In 1920 the VFL requested that police escort umpires off the field after games.[3] Comments in the press about abuse of umpires and their competency has remained a feature of the game.[4] [5]
There are four different types of umpires and one type of steward in a typical game of Australian rules football:
Originally, only one field umpire controlled each game. In the VFL/AFL, this was increased to two in 1976, then to three in 1994,[9] and then to four in 2023.[10] Amateur, suburban, junior and semi-professional matches can be overseen by one to three field umpires.
There are generally two goal umpires in each game at all levels, one at each end of the ground; occasionally, the use of two goal umpires at each end of the ground has been trialled. Goal umpires traditionally wore a white jacket, black trousers and a broad-brimmed hat; however, in more recent times caps and shirts have replaced the hats and jackets. They are the only umpires to wear headgear, their caps usually lime green or grey.
In the professional level Australian Football League, there are four boundary umpires in each match with two umpires sharing control of each side of the ground. At lower levels, there are typically only two or three boundary umpires.
At the professional level, and at other high levels of the game, all umpires and officials are provided by the league's umpiring department. At lower levels, it is common for the competing clubs to each provide one goal umpire and one boundary umpire to the match, but field umpires are still almost always provided by the league.
The game of Australian rules contains some "grey areas" where application of the laws is subject to interpretation, of degree or timing, making the job of field umpires difficult. Regular changes to laws or interpretations of rules by the AFL also contributes to the amount of work needed for umpires to maintain their skills and knowledge of the game. The umpires' director for the AFL is Jeff Gieschen, responsible for setting precedents for other affiliated leagues around the world.
Traditionally, Australian rules football umpires of all disciplines wore all-white uniforms. Goal umpires wore a more formal attire of white jacket (usually an overcoat), white hat, tie, and black slacks, as they were not required to actively run.[14]
More recently, umpires have begun wearing uniforms of a distinctive colour to avoid a jersey clash with any of the competing teams. From 2013, all AFL umpires wore lime green uniforms with grey shorts or trousers to avoid a clash with any of the league's teams. However, where a team playing has jumpers featuring yellow, AFL umpires wear a blue uniform. Additionally, field umpires in the AFL are identifiable by a jersey number.
The most common historical pejorative term for an umpire, particularly a field umpire, was "white maggot", in reference to their historical white uniforms.[15] Since then, the term is sometimes transferred to the colour the target umpire is wearing; for example, "green maggot" if the umpire is wearing a green shirt.[16]