Former AFL umpire Michael Pell set to learn fate over Brownlow betting scandal in coming weeks

As he prepares to learn whether he will be charged over his alleged role in the AFL’s Brownlow Medal betting scandal, Michael Pell has returned to officiating.

Banished AFL umpire Michael Pell returned to umpiring on the weekend ahead of a decision in the coming weeks about whether he is charged over the Brownlow betting scandal.

After a more than two-year wait, he is about to learn his fate in a complicated case that tests whether what he is alleged to have done – pass on information to friends on Brownlow voting patterns – is even illegal under Victorian rules.

It is understood he has been informed the Director of Public Prosecutions has returned the case to Victorian police, with a decision to be made in coming weeks about whether he is charged or the case is dropped.

His lawyer Jordana Fayman told the Herald Sun on Tuesday she was still waiting for a decision on his case.

On a dramatic morning in November 2022, Pell was arrested by Victoria Police over allegations associates placed Brownlow Medal bets on 10 of the 16 games he had umpired that season.

Former AFL umpire Michael Pell. Picture: AFL Photos

The insider information scandal saw him refuse to answer questions from police, step down from the AFL in subsequent months, then wait for a decision on whether he would be charged.

Pell has always protested his innocence as Victoria Police’s Sports Integrity Intelligence Unit continues its probe.

Pell has spent stints in hospital dealing with mental health concerns, writing in his LinkedIn profile of battling a “raft of mental health challenges, including depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation”.

He refused to comment on Tuesday but those close to him suggest a recent episode at a suburban cricket game has been standard practice in the two years since he departed the AFL.

A harmless spat after he was given out playing for his local club escalated as he was threatened with violence by the opposition’s cricket club president.

An official complaint was made, with action taken against the president.

Last year he was left bloodied and bruised after he was targeted while playing local football when headbutted by a Taylors Lakes opponent.

Witnesses heard players sledging him with lines like “Who’s getting the three votes today?”, and “Dan Hannebery, three votes,” during his third game for Hadfield in the Essendon District Football League.

The head of sport at a northern suburbs catholic college has remained undeterred.

The former rising star of AFL umpiring stepped in to officiate a practice match on the weekend for the Hadfield Football Club, having started a junior academy for a group of kids who are predominantly Islamic.

If found guilty of any criminal charges Pell would be barred from umpiring, likely for life.

But if future charges were dropped he would have the right to umpire again in official matches, as preposterous as a return to the AFL would be.

Michael Pell prepares to bounce during a Hawthorn vs North Melbourne game.

His Hadfield junior academy work saw him recognised at the annual Iftar Dinner hosted by the Bachar Houli Foundation at the MCG last week.

Ironically the AFL football boss Laura Kane was the gala speaker.

Those incidents of Pell being targeted in the public would suggest many have made up their mind about his conduct.

The issue about to be clarified is whether he can be charged for allegedly sharing insider information when there are question marks over whether that constitutes a crime in Victoria.

Victoria’s Crimes Act states police must prove the sharing of insider information resulted in the corruption of the outcome of a sporting event.

In New South Wales the law states anyone sharing inside information can be declared guilty of a crime.

Michael Pell at the start of an AFLW Grand Final he officiated in.

In New South Wales in 2019 the owner of a statistics company pleaded guilty to using inside information to bet on Craig Bellamy winning coach of the year at the Dally M awards, and was sentenced to an 18-month good behaviour bond.

But in Victoria the rules are more vague, as outlined by a review of Australia’s Sports Integrity Arrangements in 2018.

That report by former WADA director general David Howman, former NSW racing integrity manager Ray Murrihy and former supreme court judge James Wood led to the development of the National Sports Tribunal and development of the National Sports Integrity Commission.

But it also stated: “In relation to wagering-related manipulation of sports competitions, all states and territories other than West Australia and Tasmania have introduced sports-specific offences. The existence of significant differences in the relevant legislation is a matter for concern in this context …. We cite that the communication and use of inside information is not an offence in the Victorian legislation.

“The AFL was at pains to state the 2022 Brownlow Medal was not compromised despite those bets being placed on round-by-round voting.

Murrihy told the Herald Sun this week: “I don’t think it’s fair to say it’s not an offence in some states, but some had more specific legislation. It could still be adequately catered for an offence under the crimes act.

Pell playing local footy for Hadfield in Melbourne’s north.

It is up to the (individual) states as to whether it is necessary to bring in specific legislation or rely on more general legislation.

“One prominent Australian sports lawyer who declined to be named given their ongoing work in the field said on Tuesday the delay in decision-making was highly unusual. “From my experience six to 12 months in criminal law is a long amount of time unless it’s a particularly unusual case. For this case to not even progress to the charge stage in over two years is an extraordinary amount of time.” In that time 2022 Brownlow recipient Cripps has had time to play 49 AFL games and win another Brownlow Medal two years later with a record medal haul.

If Pell is charged it would at least allow him to answer to those allegations in court.

A conviction and good behaviour bond (or possible jail term) would allow him the closure to move on with his life.

In his LinkedIn profile Pell says of these past two years: “Despite the unimaginable pain and scrutiny of what had occurred, it ultimately allowed me to seek help and embark on a path to recovery”.

The weeks ahead will decide whether that path to healing continues or the fresh challenge of an upcoming court case begins.