Umpire (Australian rules football)
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An umpire is an official in the sport of Australian rules football.
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[edit] Origins
Unlike many other codes of football, where the official is called a referee, in Australian Football, the officials borrow their title from the game of cricket, which is played on the same types of fields and was an important aspect in the origin of the code (umpires sometimes officiated both sports in the early days of the game).
At first the captains of both teams shared the duty of officiating games, however as the game became more professional in the 1880s, umpires became an important aspect of the game.
[edit] Types
There are 4 different types of umpires in a typical game of Australian Football:
- Field Umpire - (equivalent of a referee in many other games) (sometimes referred to derogatively by Aussie Rules fans as white maggot) there are typically 3 at professional level (Australian Football League - as introduced in the 1990s) and 1 or 2 at amateur and semi-professional level. The AFL has trialled 4 umpires in the pre-season cup. Field umpires are generally responsible for doing a bounce down and ball-up during stoppages, awarding free kick, penalties and reports. These umpires once wore white shorts and shirt, but now wear yellow or green to stand out.
- Boundary Umpire - (equivalent of a linesman in many other games) There are typically 2 boundary umpires, one on each side of the field. The responsibility of boundary umpires is to determine if the ball has left the field of play, in which case they may throw the ball back in to play (a throw in) if it touches the ground first, or advise the field umpire if the ball went out on the full (to award a free kick to the opposition team).
- Goal Umpire - Only one at each end of the field. The goal umpires are the official score keepers, signal goals and behinds, and work in tandem with the boundary umpires when the ball goes out of play near the goal posts. After a score the goal umpires at both ends wave flags to confirm the score. Goal umpires traditionally wore a white suit and coat. Two goal umpires at each end have been suggested and trialled at times to reduce errors of judgement.
- Emergency Umpire - used as a replacement if an umpire gets injured. Also monitors the play from the bench for behind play incidents and will enter the field if required to diffuse scuffles and fights between players and the blood rule. Like field umpires they have the ability to report or sometimes send off players. Oversees other officials, such as club runners and interchanging of players.
[edit] Modern Umpiring and the AFL
The game of Aussie rules contains many "grey areas" where application of the rules is subject to interpretation, making the job of field umpires extremely difficult. The instigation of new rules by the AFL in recent years, also contributes to the amount of work needed for umpires to maintain their skills and knowledge of the game. The umpire director's for the AFL is Jeff Gieschen, responsible for setting precedents for other affiliated leagues around the world.
