‘Disaster’: AFL’s controversial umpire dissent rule slammed for inconsistency

The AFL’s controversial umpire dissent rule has once again come under fire following a couple of “ridiculous” decisions on Friday evening.

The AFL’s controversial umpire dissent rule has once again come under scrutiny following a couple of “ridiculous” decisions during Friday evening’s clash between the Western Bulldogs and Collingwood at Marvel Stadium.

This week, AFL football boss Brad Scott boasted that the umpire dissent rule was quickly becoming a “non-issue” in the sport, but inconsistent officiating during Friday’s “farce” has proven otherwise.

Early in the third quarter, Bulldogs young gun Buku Khamis threw his arms in the air after he appeared to be pushed out of a marking contest by Magpies defender Isaac Quaynor.

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But Khamis’ frustration only grew when the umpire awarded Collingwood a 50m penalty for umpire dissent, gifting the Magpies their third goal of the match.

“Khamis can’t believe it,” footy icon Brian Taylor said on Channel 7.

“I think it was for hands in the air as he didn’t say anything.

“There’s the arms out with a smile. Not a lot of malice in the question.”

Richmond great Matthew Richardson continued: “Come off it. That’s not 50 metres.

“You have to pay them all then. It’s just ridiculous.”

Former Bulldogs defender Lindsay Gilbee tweeted: “This rule is a joke seriously.’

Can only laugh at inconsistency.
Dissent farce.

— Mark Stevens (@StevoMedia) May 13, 2022

I see we’re randomly cracking down on fake dissent again this weekend.

Cool. Thanks Brad Scott.

— Nic Negrepontis (@NicNegrepontis) May 13, 2022

Gotta be careful with this dissent stuff. It’s great to help umpires, but punishing players for marginal stuff like we’ve seen tonight isn’t fair on them. And it will sour the game for plenty of fans. Need to get our heads around this properly.

— Andy Maher (@AndyMaherDFA) May 13, 2022

A similar incident too place in the fourth quarter when Collingwood forward Jordan De Goey threw his arms in the air after tackling Josh Dunkley, only for the Bulldogs to be awarded a 50m penalty.

Several footy pundits pointed out that De Goey had clearly attempted to hide his disappointment from the umpires, but was still pinged.

The Herald Sun’s Jon Ralph tweeted: “De Goey wanted to explode but instead didn’t show any real dissent. Still a 50m penalty. We had a base line. Now it’s hard to know where we are again.”

Australian cricketer Jess Jonassen posted: “I’m all for protecting umpires etc but I’m not a fan of the 50m ‘dissent’ rule. There’s a difference between abuse and players showing emotion in the moment.”

ABC broadcaster Quentin Hill tweeted: “This is where this crackdown is going wrong. De Goey actually shows respect by reeling in his reaction. He gets penalised anyway. We get it, but it’s time to adjust from the over-adjustment.”

A new round of footy, another controversial dissent call.

What did you make of this incident with Jordan De Goey? #AFLPiesDogspic.twitter.com/BhCh0ij6RA

— CODE AFL (@codeaflau) May 13, 2022

Real Flanders meltdown scene vibes to the De Goey dissent, trying to keep emotions inside. pic.twitter.com/QJLGv5Q34m

— Daniel Cherny (@DanielCherny) May 13, 2022

Sorry, those 50s for an instantaneous response to a decision (De Goey this time) will never be anything but ridiculous. #AFLDogsPies

— Rohan Connolly (@rohan_connolly) May 13, 2022

Speaking on Fox Footy, Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall argued: “I thought De Goey in particular was a little bit stiff because he was about to go off and then literally harnessed himself back in and then actually stopped but you could see initially he was about to throw the arms up.

“If you are going to make that much of an effort to pull yourself back, I think you’re entitled to get a little bit of latitude.

“This is where it is really, really difficult.

“They’re giving instructions to the umpires so let’s not be hard on them either. If you see the arms go up, that is some form of dissent but it’s hard to expect players to completely turn off the emotion as soon as the whistle goes.”

Former St Kilda star Leigh Montagna interjected: “It’s not hard, it’s impossible. They are going to react.

“That’s what we want to see from players – restraint – and he did bring it back to himself, he did exactly what we wanted with this rule and yet it’s still paid 50.”

Two-time premiership player David King continued: “They’ve created another grey area in the game, which is a disaster going forward.”

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs stabilised their spluttering 2022 season with a dominant 48-point win over Collingwood.

The Bulldogs looked back to their grand final best, blowing the Magpies away with a devastating first quarter that saw them kick the first six goals of the contest inside 19 minutes.

From there, the Pies never got within reach of the Dogs who cruised home to a much-needed 14.15 (99) to 7.9 (51) victory after seeing off an early final-quarter flurry from the Pies that included three quick goals.

Adam Treloar of the Bulldogs is tackled by Jordan De Goey of the Magpies. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

The Dogs would’ve slipped two games adrift of the top eight after nine rounds if they lost to the Magpies, but remain an outside chance of entering it by the time the weekend ends.

Regardless, Luke Beveridge’s men will like their chances of climbing inside the top eight by the halfway mark of the season with Gold Coast and West Coast to come in the next two weeks.

The much-vaunted Bulldogs midfield had been underperforming for majority of this year, but they had no such issues against Collingwood as Bailey Smith (41), Adam Treloar (36), Jack Macrae (37), Tom Liberatore (30) and returning skipper Marcus Bontempelli (26) combined for 170 disposals to have an enormous influence on the game.

Treloar sent another reminder to his former club of what they’re missing out on following his controversial trade in 2020, booting three goals.

— with Ronny Lerner, NCA NewsWire

Originally published as ‘Disaster’: AFL’s controversial umpire dissent rule slammed for inconsistency