Local footy umpire speaks after taking full-blooded ball to the face

A local footy umpire has spoken about the brutal falcon that floored him during Saturday’s match and the surprising aftermath.

A local footy umpire has copped one of the most brutal falcons ever seen.

Riddell District league whistleblower John Deering took the full force of Lancefield forward Tom Jackson’s kick to his face, flooring him.

Deering was setting the mark on the goalline, after awarding a 50m penalty, and didn’t see the miskick coming.

He was unable to finish the match between the Tigers at Diggers Rest, which the Burras won by 105 points.

Making matters worse for Jackson and Lancefield, he wasn’t even awarded a goal as the ball rebounded back into the field of play.

With the game stopped in order for Deering to get treatment, the ball was then balled up on the edge of the goalsquare.

Speaking on Tuesday, Deering was still feeling the effects.

“I was pretty sore on Sunday and Monday and a bit better today but my nose is still pretty sore,” he said.

“My left eye is still red with a bit of bruising, not quite a black eye.

“No concussion – luckily I’ve got a big nose – I haven’t had any symptoms or anything.”

Under the “Eddie Betts Rule” if the ball had have hit the goal umpire it could still have been deemed a goal.

However, as it hit the field umpire and bounced back into the field of play, it was play on until play was stopped.

Jackson did finished with one goal and, after the match, was extremely apologetic.

“I can’t remember much about right then but after the game he came and found me and apologised,” Deering said.

“He was quite nice about it, there was no malice in it, he just made a mistake – he put all his effort into kicking the ball instead of kicking it up.

“I went to set the mark and he ran in behind me and stuffed it up and didn’t even get a goal.”

With the King’s Birthday long weekend, the experienced umpire will at least get an extra week to recover before returning to the field.

Despite the brutal headshot, Deering called for more people to put their hand up and take up umpiring.

“We get a good lot of kids come through every year and they’re awesome,” he said.

“As they go through school and get older, they drift away and that’s OK.

“What we want is guys with a bit of footy nouse, who have played footy and are thinking of keeping fit, to come back.

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“If you’ve got a good knowledge of the game, want to keep fit and stay involved in the game – they’re the ones.

“It’s really hard to put a 17-year-old kid in a senior game of football because some of the older guys playing don’t respond well, it can destroy his confidence.”

Brandon Lester, Ryan Mullen, Campbell Wearne and Hayden Davis were Diggers Rest’s best in the 18.22 (130) to 3.7 (25) win.

Riley Omeara, Reuben Schembri, Ben Sankey and William Wright were Lancefield’s top performers.