AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon torched over umpire comments
In the face of widespread criticism of AFL umpires, Andrew Dillon just uttered the words that may define his time in charge.
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With six words, Andrew Dillon may have just defined his early days as AFL chief executive and they have not gone down well.
AFL umpires have been firmly in the spotlight in 2024, whether it was the mid-season shift to the holding-the-ball interpretation or a series of surprising calls during games.
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AFL HQ has attempted to explain certain decisions across the season to date, although the recent message is the league will only discuss calls publicly that occurred late in games and impacted results.
It can be argued of course that umpire calls at any stage of a match can influence the outcome, but let’s leave that for another day.
Speaking in Adelaide on Tuesday, Dillon was asked about umpiring under its new chief Steve McBurney this season.
“I spend a lot of time with the umpires, talking to Steve McBurney who’s heading it up, but also individual umpires,” Dillon began.
“Our umpires, it’s an incredibly tough game to umpire, but we’ve got elite decision-makers, they’re elite athletes, but they continue to work on their craft.
“All sports are really difficult to officiate, but I think our sport is one of the hardest ones.
“What our focus on is actually just preparing our umpires and making sure we get the processes right and continue to umpire as well as we can.
“I think it’s as good as it’s ever been, the umpiring.
“We’re in the second year of a four-umpire system as well, so we’re on a journey with the four-umpire system.”
No one denies that umpiring 36 players on a field usually at least 150 metres long is difficult.
But it was those six words, “as good as it’s ever been”, that have been seized on far and wide and drawn a seismic response across the competition.
“Has he watched any games at all?” was one simple question on X.
“It’s remarkable how often these people pat themselves on the back telling each other what a great job they’re doing. The general public are not fooled. It’s one of the worst seasons for umpires,” was another comment.
“Andrew Dillon proved today he is embarrassingly delusional and way out of his depth. The umpiring is in the worst state it has ever been in,” offered a third.
Another account tried to make some light of the situation, writing: “Property affordability is as good as it’s ever been.”
But most reacted with anger as fans largely recognise the standard of what they are watching when they tune in every week.
“As usual Andrew Dillon living on another planet. I call his claim for what it is … BULLS**T,” was one strong response.
Those comments were from fans, but that last suggestion was also supported by two-time AFL premiership winner Wayne Carey.
“AFL umpiring as good as the game has ever seen,” Carey posted, using a couple of cry laughing emoji. “From the AFL.”
He then capped it off with the hashtag “Bulls**it”.
Dillon did elaborate on his thoughts.
Apparently the even nature of the competition has led to a closer focus on umpires.
“The competition is so tight,” he said.
“I don’t understand why, but there’s always been a focus on umpiring — I’m pretty old and it has been around for as long as I’ve been around and will continue to be.
“But I think because the competition is so tight that maybe there is an increased focus on the umpires.”
Granted we are enjoying a close season, with 13 teams currently within two points of the finals positions heading into round 17.
But using that as a justification for umpiring scrutiny seems a stretch at best.
While the AFL has put its hand up and acknowledged mistakes at times, the silence was deafening after some highly contentious calls in Geelong’s victory over Essendon last weekend.
“What we said at the start of the year is that we’re going to continue to be transparent, but we don’t want to be up every Monday talking about umpiring decisions,” Dillon said.
“If there are umpiring decisions at the end of games, and there’s a real focus on them, then we’re happy to be up.
“But what we really want to focus on is performance. We have got an incredible competition, we have got amazing football being played, so that’s our focus.
“If there is a need to come out and talk to an umpire decision we will do that.
“But we’re not going to be doing it every week.”
If the alternative is labelling umpires “as good as ever”, however, fans are likely to demand more transparency, one way or another.
Originally published as AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon torched over umpire comments
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