Umpire kicked off the team
Medal bet scandal
THE umpire at the centre of the Brownlow Medal betting scandal has had his contract terminated by the AFL as a police investigation continues into his alleged conduct.
The AFL informed its “hurting” umpire group earlier this week that Michael Pell was no longer an employee of the league, freeing up a spot on the senior umpiring list that will be filled by another whistle blower over summer. Pell had previously been stood down after being arrested on November 14, along with three other men, for allegedly corrupting betting outcomes on the Brownlow.
“The umpire is not employed by the AFL anymore,” AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said on Thursday. “There is no employment relationship between the AFL and the umpire at the centre of the allegations. Broader consequences are now with the police because it’s a criminal matter.”
McLachlan said he did not feel the reputation of the Brownlow Medal had been damaged on the back of the allegations, but acknowledged that the umpiring group had suffered as a result of them.
“I don’t think the integrity of the Brownlow was compromised in any way,” McLachlan said. “There was not any manipulation of the votes and the winner. It was an issue of personal integrity, allegedly, and we have got to see how that plays out. The allegations have wounded the umpires personally and I feel for them, (but) I don’t think it bleeds into the Brownlow.”
The AFL has dismissed suggestions that the Brownlow Medal voting system be changed on the back of the incident and that voting should be taken out of the hands of umpires.
“The Brownlow voting will stay exactly the same,” McLachlan said at the announcement of a new four-year drinks partnership with Asahi Beverages.
“All the suggestions I’ve
heard – and it’s not that they’re not worthy – but they wouldn’t have dealt with this issue. In the end, the allegations go to personal integrity of an individual and at some point, right through every system, someone has to make a decision and they have information which … if they’re compromised, can lead to issues like have allegedly occurred here.”
This year’s Brownlow Medal winner, Carlton’s Patrick Cripps, said he had not been affected by the saga which followed his win.
“It had nothing really to do with me,” Cripps said. “It’s more of a personal integrity issue. I know there’s a fair bit of noise around it, but I didn’t really read into it at all.”