Former AFL umpire Troy Pannell accused of fraud begs to speak to family from jail

An AFL umpire involved in a controversial game during the Dogs premiership year and accused of an $8.7 million fraud has appeared in court for the first time.

Former AFL umpire Troy Pannell begged to speak to his family in his first court appearance since going missing after he was accused of defrauding his employer of $8.7 million.

He fronted Heidelberg Magistrates Court for a brief appearance on driving and theft charges, which were laid after he was involved in an accident in country Victoria in June.

A drawn, aged looking Mr Pannell appeared via video link from the Melbourne Assessment Prison, wearing a dark green prison issued fleece jumper.

It was the first time Mr Pannell has been seen since he disappeared when he was due to appear in the Victorian Supreme Court in a civil claim from his former employer SeaRoad Shipping earlier this year.

Magistrate Livingstone was told that Mr Pannell suffered a “severe concussion” in a car accident on June 6 and had been treated at the Austin and Alfred hospitals.

His barrister Astrid Haban-Beer told the court that Mr Pannell was in hospital for 10 days before he was transferred to the Melbourne Assessment Prison.

Former umpire Troy Pannell. Picture: Supplied.

“As at the first of July Mr Pannell has not been able to contact any family members,” Ms Haban-Beer said.

Magistrate Livingstone asked whether it was a case of the family members “not wanting to answer”.

However, Ms Haban-Beer said it was an issue with access to telephones.

She did not apply for bail for Mr Pannell who is also facing contempt of court charges in the Victorian Supreme Court.

His former employer SeaRoad Shipping accused Mr Pannell of siphoning $8.7 million from company accounts over more than a decade to pay for repairs to cargo containers that were allegedly never done.

He had dodged at least four court appearances in that matter and was believed to be in South Australia.

Justice Andrew Watson issued a warrant for his arrest in May, which police were trying to enforce shortly before his car crash near Daylesford last month.

Pannell during his 219 game AFL umpiring career.

Victoria Police has insisted that the single-vehicle crash was not a police pursuit.

Mr Pannell has a controversial umpiring career, with questions being raised about his decision making when he paid 17 free kicks to the Western Bulldogs and only one to Adelaide in a May 2016 game.

The Bulldogs won that game by 15 points, which helped them to seventh on the ladder from where they went on to win the premiership that year.

The AFL has refused to answer questions about whether they have investigated that game.

Mr Pannell has been accused in the civil case of being a liar and a cheat by his estranged wife Lynise Woodgate, who claimed he had fathered a child during an affair with an “Ascot Vale woman”.

Magistrate Livingston ordered the case to return to Heidelberg Magistrates Court on July 16.

Mr Pannell was listed to appear in the Supreme Court on July 18 over contempt of court charges.

He has not explained in a defence what happened to the $8.7 million that was paid to a company where he was the sole director and shareholder.

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Originally published as Former AFL umpire Troy Pannell accused of fraud begs to speak to family from jail