The AFL umpire arrested after allegedly leaking Brownlow Medal votes during the 2022 season has been named, amid the league’s investigation into suspicious betting.
According to The Age, field umpire Michael Pell, who umpired 16 matches in 2022 after making his debut the year prior, was one of four arrested after betting irregularities were identified by one of the AFL’s gambling partners.
Pell had previously umpired in the Essendon District Football League, as well as in a VFL grand final, before being called in as an emergency umpire for a match in late 2021. He was then added to the AFL umpires list for 2022.
The bets were up to several thousand dollars, but the league maintains there is no suggestion of match or vote-fixing.
The AFL also remains confident that the integrity of the 2022 Brownlow Medal, which was won by Carlton captain Patrick Cripps, is not under question.
The AFL’s Brownlow Medal system sees the three field umpires congregate at the end of every match to award votes to the three best players on the ground via a 3-2-1 system.
Pell was interviewed by police on Monday, with allegations ‘a person with knowledge of the voting tally distributed the information to a group of people known to them’, according to The Age.
“Victorians are well known for their love of AFL and in particular, the prestigious Brownlow Medal award, but equally they want to know that there is integrity, fairness and honesty behind this award,” Victoria Police Intelligence and Covert Support officer Deb Robertson said in a statement.
“We have been working with the AFL and Sport Integrity Australia in relation to these matters, and we will continue to work together to target, disrupt and apprehend people who commit these offences.
“The public assistance is a really key part – we know there are people out there involved in sport who see or hear things they know are not right and we need them to speak up.
“This can also be done confidentially via CrimeStoppers.”
(Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Along with Pell, two of the three others arrested are expected to be charged with using insider information to corrupt a betting event, which could lead to a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. The fourth man has been released pending further investigation.
According to Herald Sun chief football writer Mark Robinson, the men were discovered after a betting agency’s algorithm found an account was placing regular bets on player votes and winning every time – while attempting to beat the system by also placing bets with other agencies.
“One agency was alerted to a punter or punters placing bets on players’ votes in different matches and winning every time,” Robinson wrote.
“By the end of the count, a red flag was beside his name.
“That information was given to the AFL. It cross-checked betting patterns with their other betting partners and found the same person/people had placed similar Brownlow bets with them.
“The AFL immediately knew the information could only come from one source – the umpires.
“It cross checked the betting with games and the umpires involved and it produced the one constant – Pell.”
This isn’t the first betting scandal to rock the league, with then-Collingwood player Jaidyn Stephenson suspended for 10 games and fined $20,000 after it was discovered he had been placing bets on Magpies games he was involved in.
In 2011, another Magpie Heath Shaw was banned for eight weeks and also fined $20,000 for giving $10 to a friend to bet on teammate Nick Maxwell scoring the first goal in a match against Adelaide, after learning the usual defender would be starting in the forward line.
criag
Roar Rookie
Fair enough….probably reacting to other comments. I didn’t make my initial comment to put down AFL, just offering a suggestion. My friends and I have sat by the fence at every football code and we always find it a terrible view of the game.
nics
Roar Rookie
Fair call, but I note that 2018 largely came down to the talls at either end, in a game involving two evenly-matched midfields.
XI
Roar Guru
Considering your inability to parse a sentence I think you should learn to focus on one thing at a time
DTM
Roar Rookie
What a team we would be!
Chanon
Roar Rookie
I’m the opposite l have the courage to commit the act but l don’t have a criminal mind :stoked:
AdamDilligafThompson
Roar Rookie
So if we're going to hand out the "Hold My Beer" award for the year, has this guy made a late run for it and stolen it right out of the fingertips of North and Essendon.? I don't think theres ever been a year quite like it when it comes to controversy. On another note, I noticed Shane Edwards started at the crows as well, do you think they picked him up from the airport in a bus and played the Richmond theme song on the way back to the club to make him feel at home.? :happy:
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
This comes back to your apparent inability to multitask I guess.
XI
Roar Guru
So you'd rather they use their finite time together to discuss voting for an end of season award rather than spend time coaching and improving at their primary role? Interesting set of priorities you have there.
Ian Morrison
Guest
Yep, career over, contract torn up, probably have move to FNQ and change his name. 10 years gaol is the max punishment. Jeez, you can kill someone or import millions in drugs and get less time. Priorities I suppose.
AdamDilligafThompson
Roar Rookie
Yeah definitely especially with the tweaks and changes we seem to have every year, it would be hard enough as it is let alone those clowns at the rules committee changing things all the time.lol.
Chanon
Roar Rookie
It’s probably one of the hardest games to umpire with all the different interpretations of our great game. They are best to do one task only.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Give me a break. “hey you fell behind the play there and missed a throw.” That would take two seconds to discuss. Last time I checked, an AFL half time break was 20 minutes. Quarters 6 minutes. They need to be discussing any potential issues that may be occurring with certain players gaming the rules first and foremost. That may also involve discussing which players to look out for that may be being targeted, etc. All of this will come into the context of discussing the natural flow of a game, which guess what, gives the umpires an idea of who is being influential and who is not. They make a decision at the END of the game after discussing it as to who gets the Brownlow votes. It's really that simple.
AdamDilligafThompson
Roar Rookie
Definitely man. It couldn't hurt could it. Things change over the years and theres so much more going on on the field these days, they really do have enough to deal with probably
XI
Roar Guru
No but umpires should be spending the breaks to review their performance, just like players do. Instead of talking about "it seems Cripps is worth a couple of votes" they could be talking about "hey you fell behind the play there and missed a throw." Their jobs are to keep the game safe and fair. They shouldn't have to worry about votes at all
Chanon
Roar Rookie
Umps have pet favs so not much difference in the scheme of things. A shakeup for the reward is long over due regardless of what transpired.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Why would I want to do a random sample of all fans? We aren't discussing what the fans think. We're discussing what AFL umpires are asked to perform. That does not extent to weekend hack umpires either. However, if you're trying to tell me an AFL umpire gets distracted from their job, i.e. cannot multitask, by liaising during the breaks regarding who is best, then we'll never agree on anything. It's not like the umps at half time have to discuss strategy on how to stop Patrick Cripps gaining votes. They know their job and execute it fairly well week-on-week without distraction. Asking them to determine Brownlow votes at the end of a game is hardly asking them to donate a kidney.
Realist
Roar Rookie
The Umpire transgressed and has been caught. The System works. I don't think he'll beat his charges like his namesake managed to even if Tony Abbott speaks in support.
Randy
Roar Rookie
AFL is in its own weird bubble, what other sport has a "3 strike policy" when it comes to drugs lol
AdamDilligafThompson
Roar Rookie
It was nice to see the lawyers of the other families involved in the hawthorn thing to come out and say they are going to be involved and try to help with the process as much as possible and put trust in the system and AFL to work through it. Just a shame it doesn't seem to make the same headlines around here as what the other situation with "Amy" does. Go figure.lol.
AdamDilligafThompson
Roar Rookie
The coaches are probably in the best position to allocate votes as they know exactly what jobs they gave their players on game day but I guess that could leave it open to being dodgy too if a coach really wanted a player to win Charlie hed just give em votes every week.lol.