Brownlow Medal betting scandal: Why David Schwarz isn’t surprised, AFL to brief umpires on secrecy

David Schwarz has seen waves of gambling activity in the AFL – and given the circumstances, he’s not surprised about the Brownlow Medal allegations. Here’s why.

Recovered gambling addict David Schwarz says he’s not surprised an AFL umpire has allegedly been caught up in a gambling scandal.

“I’m not surprised one bit because they’re human and not only are they human, they have inside information,’’ Schwarz said.

“It doesn’t matter how many deterrents you put in place, there are going to be vulnerable people and they’re going to be weak, you don’t know what’s going on in his personal life and unfortunately he might not have even thought it was a big error.”

AFL umpire Michael Pell has been accused of leaking Brownlow Medal votes to three others, and charges are expected to be laid by Victoria police.

David Schwarz isn’t surprised about the Brownlow Medal betting revelations. Picture: Alex Coppel.

“If it’s true, I feel for him,’’ Schwarz said. “Hopefully it’s just a one-off huge mistake, but if it was systematic money-grabbing he has to suffer the consequences.

“The alleged bets are on the serious side of rorting and that affects the integrity of the sport.’’

Schwarz acknowledged the proliferation of gambling adverts and gambling markets had “normalised’’ gambling more than at any other time in Australia’s ball-sports history.

“I’ve told you the story of my son, who was 13 at the time, telling me the Tigers would win today. I’ll never forget it because I said, yeah because they’ve got Dusty and Alex Rance, and he said, nuh, they’re $1.13 to win,” Schwarz said.

“A 13-year-old said that and he had never gambled in his life.

“For him to say that, it’s normalised because of the way teams are judged. They are judged by what bookmakers say.’’

For more than a decade, Schwarz has seen waves of gambling activity and addiction among AFL players, but says he’s now more concerned about the number of gamblers in schools aged 16, 17 and 18-years of age.

He has spoken at several secondary schools this year and is scheduled to increase that number in 2023.

AFL umpire Michael Pell. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos

“The biggest tsunami at the moment is the 16 and 17 and 18-year-olds on the back of COVID,’’ Schwarz said.

“For two years, kids basically stayed at home and were on the devices and one of the things they turned to was gambling,.

“Schools tell me there are two things they can’t control – vaping and gambling within class. Say it’s a Year 11 class and they’re teaching maths, there would be 10 kids betting on a NBA multi-bet.

“We, our society, has a huge problem, and the schools know how bad it’s getting.

“And it’s not just the kids. A first-class cricketer told me when I was at Silverstone in England during the year, that gambling among cricketers has gone to new levels.’’

Schwarz argued that the explosion of gambling advertising heaped temptation on people.

“If you’re putting ice, for example, in front of every 17 and 18-year-old, more people are going to be doing ice,’’ he said.

“What we’re doing is putting gambling in front of every kid in the country, and they’re not only seeing it on TV, they’re seeing it on every social media platform they use.

“So, no matter where the kids turn to, they can’t get away from it. They can’t escape it. If I’m an alcoholic, I don’t go to bottle shops or social events, how do kids get away from gambling. It’s in their face 24-7.

“It’s more than elephant in the room … we have been waiting for this to happen and we’ve had a blind fold on.’’

Schwarz, who has not had a bet since May 3, 2005, made from his garage during his son Cooper’s christening, is planning to complete masters in drug and alcohol addiction in 20

Umpires rocked by breach of ‘sacrosanct’ Brownlow duty

- Lauren Wood

The AFL will brief its umpiring fraternity on its confidentiality obligations in the wake of Brownlow betting arrests.

As one former top AFL umpire described Brownlow voting as a “sacrosanct” part of umpiring where secrecy is valued above all else, the league will seek to address all umpires on their return from leave regarding what is required of them.

An AFL umpire was one of four men arrested on Monday following a Victoria Police investigation, which also involved the AFL and Sport Integrity Australia, relating to the alleged release of voting tallies in the league’s most prestigious award.

Former league umpire Derek Humphery-Smith said that Brownlow voting was a critical part of the role of a field umpire that was held in incredibly high esteem.

“It is very much a sacrosanct aspect of the role,” Humphery-Smith told the Herald Sun.

“It is taken genuinely very seriously, and there’s quite a cultural overlay in the umpiring group that people don’t talk about it, and there’s a lot of peer pressure applied that you just don’t.

“(Talking about voting) is incredibly frowned upon, even if there’s somebody trying to make a joke out of something that might have occurred. It just doesn’t happen.”

Keeping Brownlow votes secret is sacrosanct for AFL umpires. Picture: AAP Image/Mark Nolan

He said the advent of sports betting – which includes spot betting on particular rounds of voting in the Brownlow Medal – had added another complex layer to the umpires’ job.

“It’s been elevated into the integrity space obviously within the AFL,” he said.

“One would hope that the umpiring group is the one that would be the least subject of any allegations of this type.

“But social media combined with sports betting … it’s always going to be a recipe (for danger).”

One former AFL umpire contacted by the Herald Sun said they believed sports gambling had only made a hard job for umpires even harder.

Humphery-Smith said umpires respected the confidential nature of Brownlow voting.

“Having come from playing footy to being an umpire that I was genuinely surprised how seriously it was all taken,” he said.

“That starts from the more senior umpires on the list really applying that pressure of secrecy to ensure that everything is kept secret to the more junior umpires on the list. I’m very confident that hasn’t changed.”

How could Brownlow votes get out?

Brownlow voting is one of the most secretive elements to being an AFL umpire.

So how does it actually work?

After home and away season games, field umpires – who sign confidentiality agreements surrounding sensitive information such as Brownlow voting as part of their employment contracts – gather for the last element to be taken care of as part of their match day commitments.

Voting.

It’s a privilege, according to many former umpires.

HOW VOTING WORKS

In a quiet corner – consciously away from prying eyes or ears – the three field umpires confer on their read on the match, usually without checking any statistics.

They can sometimes choose to confer with the emergency umpire on the day, though that person cannot have any input on the final voting.

Once the final three best performances from the game are settled upon – which can sometimes take a while - they are recorded on the game’s official vote card and then sealed.

Patrick Cripps after winning last year’s Brownlow Medal. Picture: Mark Stewart

WHO WOULD KNOW?

Only those who have voted on the game would know who has been awarded votes.

They are clearly marked as Brownlow votes and gathered with the rest of the umpires’ match day paperwork – which may include things like match day reports of players – and are submitted to the AFL.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Once with the league, they are separated from the match day documentation and put under guard by the league’s official guard of votes, Armaguard, where they are kept under lock and key until they are delivered and read out on Brownlow night.

There has been drama over the years, with votes from one game in 2010 having to be recast after the envelope for a Round 8 game between Melbourne and West Coast were misplaced.

“A full search was conducted of the umpire change rooms and adjoining areas, along with interviews with all match-day staff who had access to the area in the post-game period, which did not uncover the envelope containing the votes and concluded that it had been misplaced,” the AFL said in a statement at the time.

Originally published as Brownlow Medal betting scandal: Why David Schwarz isn’t surprised, AFL to brief umpires on secrecy