‘Needs a f***ing overhaul’: AFL world erupts over umpiring howler

Footy fans have been left seeing red and calling out the AFL over the state of the umpiring after a blatant free kick went unpaid.

Umpiring in the AFL has found itself in the spotlight throughout the 2025 season and on Saturday it came under heavy fire once again.

In the second quarter of Melbourne’s clash with Hawthorn, a blatant trip went uncalled which cost the Demons a goal.

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Two Hawthorn players collided while attempting to spoil a deep ball that landed at the top of the goalsquare.

As they fell to the turf, Melbourne’s Kysaiah Pickett turned and had an open square to run into to bring the margin back to within three points.

But as he attempted to turn and run, Hawthorn’s Blake Hardwick grabbed his left leg which caused Pickett to trip and hit the deck.

The players, the fans watching on and the commentary crew all saw what had unfolded but the man with the whistle never blew it for the free kick.

“He was legged that has to be a free … they didn’t pay it,” Mark Howard said on Fox Footy.

Eddie Betts added: “That was unbelievable. The whole crowd knew that was a trip … That was a free kick every day of the week.”

The umpiring howler didn’t go down well with footy fans who were quick to savage the league for yet another disaster unfolding.

Gerard Whateley on SEN said: “Oh my godfather. how do you miss that! There is four of them! 45,000 people saw it clear as day.”

Liam Pickering added: “That’ll go down as one of the howlers of the year … it’ll be hard to find a worse non-decision than that.”

Couldn’t have been clearer.

One wrote on X: “Easily the worst call of the year given the absolute space he was in.”

A second added: “Disgusting from the umpires. A significant fine should result.”

A third wrote: “This is an all time howler from the umpire.”

A fourth chimed in: “This sums up the state of the umpiring. AFL needs a f***ing overhaul.”

As the outrage poured in, countless fans were all left quoting AFL boss Andrew Dillon’s remarks that the standard of umpiring “is as good as ever”.

Former AFL player Daniel Gorringe was left gobsmacked by the no-call, calling out how the umpires missed such a blatant trip.

The free kick would have seen Melbourne bring the margin back to within three points in what was a hard fought three quarters at the MCG.

Hawthorn however proved far too strong in the final term as they kicked six goals to one as they raced away to record the 13.13 (91) to 7.14 (56) victory.

While the Pickett miss didn’t have an impact on the outcome of the contest, the clear as day miss from the umpires only adds to the growing frustration fans have felt throughout the season.

Along with the on-field umpiring, fans are beginning to lose faith in the AFL’s Match Review officer and Tribunal system.

Despite Dillon proclaiming the standard of umpiring has never been better, the facts continue to prove the league has a lot of work on its hands.