Umpire shouldn’t be blamed for Crows goal farce

His “human error” revealed fundamental flaws in the AFL score review process – but the goal umpire was let down by the system as much as everyone else.

The goal umpire has been stood down after the controversial call on Saturday night. Picture: Fox Sports

It’s amateur hour at the AFL, where words are cheap but mistakes are costly.

It’s a billion-dollar code with millions of fans, but a human error has revealed fundamental flaws in the AFL score review process.

The failure to award the Adelaide Crows a goal, which everyone agrees was kicked by Ben Keays, has wrongly robbed the team a chance to get into the finals.

The problem is not the umpire, but the AFL’s processes, which must now urgently be overhauled. It’s the third score review situation in recent weeks and it’s unacceptable for AFL boss Gill McLachlan to apologise for “human error” then do nothing to ensure the situation doesn’t arise again.

They’re just empty words unless they are matched with action.

McLachlan says he takes “accountability for the mistake on behalf of the league”, which means he must now act.

Gillon McLachlan admitted if the decision had been reviewed, Ben Keays would have been awarded a goal. Picture: Fox Sports

The decision has ‘robbed’ the Crows of a finals berth. Picture: Fox Sports

Crows CEO Tim Silvers said the club was looking at its options but had little hope of overturning the results. Unfortunately, he’s right. Once the game finished and winners paid out, it was too late to change the outcome.

The Crows now have no recourse and no way forward. Even if they are retrospectively awarded the goal, they didn’t win the game, which still had 70 seconds on the clock.

The umpire is another victim. He was just calling it as he saw it, and in the heat of the moment didn’t think the decision needed a review. He does not deserve to be suspended because the system has let him down as much as everyone else. Clearly there is a need for officials behind the scenes to review every goal and point awarded, and intervene if needed.

The technology is available, and used in just about every other sporting code. So why not the AFL?

McLachlan said score reviews would interrupt the flow of contests, but the accuracy of important calls is more important than the timing of the game.

Other codes such as soccer view calls on the spot, and make adjustments if needed.

At the time many spectators, players and commentators believed it was a goal; there was enough evidence to warrant a review, particularly given what was at stake for the losing team.

This umpiring decision, which is surely one of the costliest ever for the poor Crows, must spur the AFL to do things differently in future.