SailGP umpiring controversy erupts as stars blast ‘shock’ calls in X-rated rants

Some of the world’s best sailors have called for officials to punish their rivals for foul-mouthed rants amid controversy at SailGP Dubai.

SailGP’s race officials have come under intense scrutiny after several team drivers lashed out at penalties handed down by the umpire on the first day of the Dubai event.

Light winds wreaked havoc at Dubai’s Port Rashid and Australia had a day to forget in the less-than-ideal conditions, finishing eighth in the first two races before salvaging fourth place in the third race to finish the day second last in the standings on 13 points.

Australia and Spain, the two teams that dominated Friday’s practice, floundered on Saturday and could barely get going in the light winds as they languished at the back of the pack.

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Rubbing salt into the wound, Tom Slingsby’s Team Australia copped two penalties from the umpires for sailing too close to other teams, including Canada in race three.

Slingsby was furious and was heard uttering expletives over his on-board radio communication, while Canada’s driver Phil Robertson was also ropeable, swearing at the umpire over the race committee radio after being handed a penalty.

“We disagree with some of the penalties that were given,” Slingsby said.

“They were a shock to us. And then I heard the other teams, it was a huge shock to them too. I think Phil Robertson might have got a professional foul for swearing at the umpires.

Tom Slingsby (left) wasn’t impressed by the penalty calls. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

“I wanted to but I managed to restrain myself on the race committee channel. I might have said some things outside of that. Yeah, frustrating.”

SailGP’s chief umpire Craig Mitchell was under the pump from the world’s best sailors, but Robertson and Slingsby’s X-rated radio rants raised eyebrows with other teams.

New Zealand’s driver Peter Burling said the “coarse language” was “not what we want to see in our sport.”

Team USA’s skipper Jimmy Spithill said he wouldn’t be surprised if the umpire decided to come down hard on verbal abuse by docking points for swearing directed at him.

“I certainly heard it all,” Spithill said of the foul language.

“But I think the question is will the umpires take points off guys for abuse. It’ll be interesting.

“We’ll see. It’s up to them. They’ve warned us. I guess how many times are they going to warn us?”

Robertson was angry at a penalty in race three but said he had “no idea” if Canada would be penalised further for his swearing.

“There’s probably a few people fired up about it,” he said of the umpiring.

“It is what it is. It’s tricky. When it’s this light and the boats are going very slow it’s a completely different game to umpire. It’s something we’re always trying to improve and get better at from the sporting side and the decision making side and the umpire team. It’s not easy.

Jimmy Spithill thinks SailGP might need more than just a swear jar. . (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

“We got a bit of a rough one in the last race that we weren’t too happy about.

“A little bit surprised with the call but we’ll go back and review it and see how they saw it and listen to them. Hopefully it’s productive and everyone can improve.

“I think everyone’s under a lot of pressure and you hear a lot of people talk to the umpires. It gets a bit frustrating when you’re getting calls go against you at times. You want to bite your tongue but in the heat of the moment sometimes you let it slip.”

The standard of umpiring more broadly also came under scrutiny.

The races were gradually shortened in the difficult wind conditions but Spithill believed the umpire should have been more proactive to reduce the crew on each boat from six to four people before race three, which may have allowed more foiling.

“For me it’s a no-brainer,” he said.

“We keep doing it event after event where we need to push four further up the range.

“Because it’ll be better foiling with four going up range than having the risk of the boats becoming a raft with full crew and not being able to get them going and having this confusion of how many laps and all the other stuff.

“The race committee is doing the best they can. The conditions, when they go light, there’s only so much you can do. But again, I think we should be pushing the four further up the range.”

It was a tough day at the office for Australia (left) (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP)

Slingsby said the teams have long been frustrated by the umpiring and he would make his concerns clear in firm discussions in a post-race recap.

He took a swipe at the fact veteran sailing official Richard Slater has been brought into advise on and improve the communication process between SailGP’s teams and umpires.

“We’ve been doing it for three years now and for me it feels like if it (the umpiring) is improving it’s very slow,” he said.

“These are issues we’ve been facing a lot. They’ve now got a coach in to coach the umpires. I think it’s his (Slater’s) first event here and I think it’s showing he’s got a lot of work to do. He’s got a tough job ahead of him.”

Canada dominated the opening race but Great Britain won the last two races to sit at the top of the standings after Day 1 ahead of the USA and New Zealand.

Slingsby cut an exasperated figure after the first day of action in Dubai and conceded it would take a miracle for Australia to qualify for the final on Sunday.

“Honestly I’m not even going to think about the final tomorrow,” he said.

Great Britain dominated Day 1 in Dubai. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP)

“Points wise it might mathematically be possible but everything has to go our way. It’s one of those events where we’re just trying to save the event and not get a last or a second last.

“Even if we come away with a fifth after a day like today, it’s almost a good result for us, we’re so far out the back. We need to go out, get good clean races and not worry about the final. If we go out and win three races we’ll worry about the final after that.”

Another dire result on Sunday could see Australia’s four-point lead over New Zealand in the overall season three championship evaporate.

Day 1 Dubai SailGP standings

Great Britain (25 points)

United States (20)

New Zealand (20)

France (19)

Canada (19)

Switzerland (18)

Denmark (18)

Australia (13)

Spain (10)

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