The AFL, that over-officious sporting body which struts its self-importance like a hired goon from Underbelly, has gone completely power mad, imposing ruthless penalties on officials who placed some of the world’s smallest bets.

Who'd want to be an AFL official? Cartoon: Mark Knight / File

Get this. AFL Timekeeper Matthew Hollington has been stood down for five weeks for placing a $5 bet on an AFL game in 2009, when he was a trainee timekeeper.

AFL interchange steward John Wise has been booted out for the remainder of season 2010 for placing $9 worth of bets in the 2009 season, all in $1 and $2 denominations.

Goal umpire Chris Appleton has been sidelined for the rest of 2010 for betting $60 on last year’s grand final on a mate’s behalf, despite the fact he was watching the match in the pub and had no role whatsoever in the game.

What the hey, they might as well have chopped the perpetrators’ toes and fingers off too.

As I write this, there is a presser taking place at AFL HQ in Melbourne. Undoubtedly, a smug spokesperson will be spruiking loudly and proudly that these penalties send a message to those AFL officials or players who would sully the integrity of the greatest game on earth by wagering money upon it, blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada.

The headlines in tomorrow’s papers will be Port Adelaide assistant coach Matthew Primus, who’s been outed for two weeks for a $20 NAB Cup bet on a game in which Port was not playing.

And OK, yes, sure, fine. Obviously it’s important that those close to the game do not bet on it, for a host of reasons more obvious than Sam Newman’s facelifts.

But the AFL didn’t have to play crazed headmaster and suspend a bunch of small-time officials to make its point. Primus’s head would have been enough. The rest were just massive overkill.

There is obviously a huge subtext to all of this. Sports betting in Australia has grown astronomically and largely unchecked in recent years, and its full effects are yet to be properly documented. As other journos have pointed out, it’s only a matter of time before the Big One hits, as in, a major case of match fixing.

But robbing an interchange steward of his job for betting a few gold coins isn’t going to change the likelihood of that happening.

Oh, and while the AFL harps on about its integrity, would now be a good time to point out the massive income it receives in “product fees” from licensed bookies?

Product fees, typically, are 10 per cent of bookies’ profits on a particular sport, remitted straight back to the sport’s governing body.

I’ve just gotten off the phone from a bookmaker friend of mine, and his extremely conservative estimate was that the AFL gets $2 million a year from said fees.

Perhaps the AFL could invest some of that bounty in a well-conceived series of preventative anti-gambling measures, instead of shooting its own officials from the hip.

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22 comments

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    • OJ says:

      07:08pm | 05/05/10

      The AFL has to be the most preening, self-important sporting body in the world.

      Even in other draft system sports, such as in the US, the governing body doesn’t meddle as much as the AFL.

      For crying out loud, they even stuck their nose into Binglegate, as if the text messages sent by football players in their own time is of any concern of the AFL. It’s almost as if they feel they have to validate themselves by finding new areas in which to make pompous judgements.

    • Nathan says:

      10:26am | 06/05/10

      OJ, congratulations on missing the point.

      You simply cannot have officials involved in the game betting on it. The amounts are irrelevant. These people knowingly broke the AFL’s rules so why are you whining about making these people accountable for thier actions?

      As for ‘binglegate’, people whined that the AFL didn’t take enough action, now you’re bleating that they did. If players behave in a manner likely to bring the game into disrepute, on or off the ground, the AFL is entitled to take action.  What if the text messages sent by football players in their own time were death threats or bomb hoaxes, would the AFL be ‘pompous’ if they investigated in that scenario too?

      I would suggest that making strong broad statements on a subject you clearly know little about would be considered more pompous

    • Richard Tuffin says:

      07:08pm | 05/05/10

      Personally, and for maybe the first time I agree with the AFL on a zero tolerance stance - even for officials such as interchange stewards, water boys, right down to the bloke who guards the spare footy’s behind the posts (not that I wouldnt kill to do that job every week when Carlton’s playing!!)

      I reckon you’ll find a lot of really keen AFL supporters who agree with me on this one.  Gambling on the footy is such a massive industry, the AFL has to stamp out even the smallest wiff of impropriety.  Otherwise it won’t be long before a Melbourne based club that plays the right type of footy finds itself stripped of premierships or match points etc. etc.

      And you’ve got me thinking, how appropriate then is it for gambling addicts to be playing the game at the most senior level possible?  Yes, I’m referring to Fevola but thinking back to the Carlton / Hawthorn game last year, that game was decided off his boot and his boot alone!  Issue?  I think so!!!

    • Dan says:

      10:41pm | 05/05/10

      Fevola kicked something like 8.1 that game, and the reason Carlton lost was also because Roughhead kicked 8 goals as well. It became a duel between the two; Fevola lost. It wasn’t decided ‘off his boot and his boot alone’.

      I completely agree with you on your main point, but I think it’s absurd to even suggest that Fevola threw the game.

    • solaris says:

      03:48pm | 06/05/10

      if its the game i think your talking about, fevola hit the post after the siren - goal could have won the game

    • BTS says:

      07:12pm | 05/05/10

      If I only slightly punch you in the face, should I not be charged with assault?

      If I only slightly key your car, should I not be charged with damaging property?

      The amounts don’t matter, you know the rules, don’t break them.

    • Dan says:

      10:22pm | 05/05/10

      I agree with both OJ and BTS. I agree with OJ that the AFL should have stayed out of the Bingle thing (it was none of their business!), but I agree with BTS about this. The officials knew the rules and the penalties; they broke the rules and paid the price. They should haven’t gambled in the first place; simple as that.

    • Willy K says:

      11:00pm | 05/05/10

      Demetriou has politicised, bureaucraticised, and basically ruined the game on the altar of money over quality.  Al these tribute games and charity BS - honestly its getting out of control and turning in male netball.

      Vlad’s use by is up.  Lets get some new blood - REAL footy person that protects and respects the games heartland and real supporters.

      Pathetic.

    • bullwinkle says:

      12:08pm | 06/05/10

      Not only that, Willy K, he’s raping the game to the tune of $1.8m per year.

    • Alfred Deakin says:

      11:49pm | 05/05/10

      The AFL and the televising channels have been making a fortune promoting betting on their games in recent years. Are they now reaping what they have sown? I for one am sick of looking up at the scoreboard during a game, only to see how much each team is paying for a win “right now”.

      And yes, it is amusing watching the cricket also, watching Richie Benaud extolling the “good odds” to be made on the current game (through gritted teeth!!)

    • acker says:

      07:16am | 06/05/10

      I heard on Sky News that Primus is also in trouble for betting on an English Premier League soccer match, how intrusive is the AFL ? I take it Primus has similar humen rights as the rest of us, or does he ?

    • David B says:

      09:07am | 06/05/10

      The EPL game was part of a multi-bet that he had which included the NAB Cup AFL game.

    • Justin says:

      08:29am | 06/05/10

      I’d like an investigation in to commentators & journos calling/reporting through their hip pockets. And Supercoach/Dream teams aren’t helping either.

    • soultrader says:

      08:49am | 06/05/10

      Get used to it everybody - the AFL and all governments are hooked on gambling income. We have become so regulated and beauracratized, every aspect of our life is under scrutiny - so where is the freedom?
      The stupid penalties handed to these people are beyond belief. Will we end up with 640 players rigging the results of a round to make $millions? I don’t think so. These examples are peurile and have no impact on the AFL. I cannot believe that Primus’s multi bet would end AFL civilisation as we know it. Demetriou and Anderson - get a grip of yourselves - or is that the problem - you already have!!!!

    • Brett says:

      10:21am | 06/05/10

      The gullible fools that play AFL dont seem to realise how amateurish and embarassingly the AFL presents itself when compared to properly run professional sporting codes - Dimitriou does more favours for soccer and rugby simply by being at the head of the AFL than he or his easily led followers could ever realise

    • Brett says:

      10:29am | 06/05/10

      I think the AFL wants to appear to be making the “big decisions” like real sporting bodies do - like the ARL did with the Storm the other week - so its time to publicly flog some menial accolytes so the AFL can look big time - until the AFL is a 30 round home and away comp it will only ever be a second rate sport in real terms - I mean, playing some teams once a year ond others twice while the entire season only lasts around 6 months? that is just laughable!

    • r davies says:

      10:35am | 06/05/10

      Zero tolerance - they all know the rules, hence they must pay the penalty.

    • r davies says:

      10:35am | 06/05/10

      Zero tolerance - they all know the rules, hence they must pay the penalty.

    • Graham S says:

      11:02am | 06/05/10

      More importantly, how did AFL officialdom know these bets were placed, by whom, when and how much? Who passed on the information to the AFL?. Are there not privacy laws in Australia where I can’t even confirm whether my own wife or son has a TAB account due to Privacy Laws. What the hell’s going on here? Somebody has broken the law. The Privacy laws were introduced by the Federal Government and correct me if I’m wrong but the AFL’s rules do not over-ride Federal Governemnt law. If I’d have been publicly named in the media as a sort of quasi criminal,I’d be suing. By the way, betting is legal in Australia.

    • david says:

      01:01pm | 06/05/10

      in order to promote equality to the comp, perhaps the AFL should encourage betting by players, coaches and officials. That way anyone can win…

    • Jenni says:

      01:18pm | 06/05/10

      The problem is, this - if we don’t punish people for small infractions, who gets to decide at what point we DO start cracking down? $2 a week betting? $20? $200? Who makes that call, and on what basis do you decide that (for example) a $99 bet is ok, but a $100 bet is “over the line”?

      Zero tolerance is the only transparent and justifiable manner in which to treat these infractions. At first glance it might seem arbitrary and over-the-top, but it’s the only way to do it.

    • Nick says:

      08:25pm | 05/06/12

      l believe they are only bring up the small betting scandals to make it look as if they are doing there job. Why have we not seen any big betting scandals yet. Some of the latest results have me wondering???

 

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