Chirnside Park footballer Luke Flannigan suspended for 10 weeks for umpire abuse

A suburban footballer in Melbourne’s outer east will sit out the rest of the season after he abused a young umpire nearly two hours after his team was beaten by 99 points.

Chirnside Park footballer Luke Flannigan was suspended after abusing a young umpire waiting for his dad to pick him up in a carpark.

A local footballer has been banned for 10 weeks after a post-match carpark rant at an young umpire almost two hours after a 99-point defeat.

The Eastern Football League tribunal slapped the 10-game suspension on Chirnside Park footballer Luke Flannigan on Tuesday night.

The EFL’s tribunal listing shows Flannigan was reported in the Round 10 Division 3 reserves game against Donvale on June 22 for “using abusive, insulting or obscene language towards or in relation to an umpire”.

It’s understood the report was made following a post-match altercation when the umpire was waiting for his father to collect him during halftime of the senior game.

It’s believed the abuse happened in the carpark at Donvale Reserve and a Donvale player intervened to defend the umpire.

There was no physical altercation.

A witness said the umpire was “very shocked and stunned” by the incident.

It’s believed the abuse was about some of the umpire’s decisions made during the game.

The witness said the umpire was “very young”.

“I didn’t hear what was said but I just saw what was going on and it felt very unusual,” the witness said.

“Regardless of the age, you don’t deserve to get abused two hours after a game.”

EFL general manager of football operations Dyson Baker was tight-lipped about the circumstances but confirmed an investigation had been completed over the past fortnight.

“From our point of view, it was not an ideal situation and I’m not going to go any further into it,” Baker said.

Records shows Flannigan, 21, has not played since he was reported and he will be unable to play until next year.

He had made six appearances in Chirnside Park’s reserves this year and had played in the club’s under-19s in the past two seasons.

Chirnside Park football manager Luke Mather declined to comment.

The EFL’s head of umpiring Scott Van Noordennen applauded the umpire for how he handled the situation.

MORE LOCAL FOOTY

ST ALBANS COACH INJURED AFTER POST-MATCH CLASH

AFL INTEREST IN BALWYN FORWARD GROWS

DONCASTER’S BID TO BOOST RESERVES NUMBERS MET BY RED TAPE

RESERVOIR RESPONDS TO COACH AXING

“In this instance, this is a one-off thing that happens very rarely for us and thankfully my umpires are doing the right thing and when it does happen to them, they’re doing something about it through their actions to report or deal with it on the day,” Van Noordennen said.

Van Noordennen said umpires were encouraged to report any abuse.

“In the past we might have had umpires that didn’t do anything or action about it but we’re educating our people to be a bit stronger in that area,” he said.

“If we’re coming across it, we’re making sure our guys are being coached in a way that they either deal with it on the day or if they need to use the processes that are there.”

Chirnside Park’s seniors and reserves are both winless with 0-12 records.

The Panthers’ seniors have not won a game since Round 18, 2017 and are on a 30-game losing streak.

Donvale won the Round 10 reserves fixture by 99 points, 15.17 (107) to 1.2 (8).

WHAT A LEADER LOCAL FOOTY SUBSCRIPTION GIVES YOU ACCESS TO

— Match reports, features, player and coach movements and analysis of all the leagues across Melbourne.

— Unprecedented AFL coverage.

— All the latest football news from across the country including Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph and Courier-Mail.

— Latest news and videos from the world’s leading leagues.

— Exclusive digital stories and videos before they go to print.