(Photo: Blair Burns)
Angry spectators roar from the stands, desperate for a decision from the umpire. Whether it’s the 100,000 live fans or the millions following on social media, a controversial call will be discussed for weeks or months to come.
There is no doubt that in recent years, the media has become a huge part of AFL football, you only have to look at the current record-breaking broadcast deal to know how important media is to the world of sport.
A journalist’s job is to talk about controversial things whether the individual wants to or not. This ongoing discussion can commonly be about particular players, umpiring decisions, rule interpretation and can force rule changes to be made or players to be umpired differently. An example of this can be made from the way Joel Selwood was notable for ducking into tackles to get high free kicks. This warranted a rule change which concluded that if a player ducks their head, ‘play on’ is the call and they will not be awarded a free kick.
Particular AFL players were thrown under the spotlight last year for the way they play, which has led to them being umpired differently. Collingwood young gun, Jack Ginnivan was the most prominent example in 2022 with him continually ducking his head and dropping his knees, so the tackles slip high, and he is awarded a free kick. As the media began to talk about his tactical technique, AFL umpires began to umpire him drastically differently than before. This shows how influential the media is on the game and the way players and rules are perceived.
(Photo: Blair Burns)
Former player, Leigh Fisher experienced what it was like to play in front of crowds and have his skills be analysed in the media and newspapers. Now, as an umpire, he gets to see the media impact from a different perspective - still from the field.
After 12 years and 196 games as a senior umpire, Fisher believes the link is undeniable.
“The media is a very powerful vehicle and has the ability to portray a player how they want,” he said.
“Whether this is right or wrong, I don’t know, as both industries rely on each other to exist.”
Fisher added that the presence of AFL media had significantly grown since his playing days concluded in 2010.
“I think the rise of social media and ease of access to information via the internet has played a big role in this,” he said.
“Journalists and the football media also seem to be working 12 months of the year and football is always in the news.”
AFL players such as Jack Ginnivan, Toby Greene and Joel Selwood have been umpired differently to players like Patrick Cripps, as a result of the media scrutiny that umpires and players have faced. Ginnivan and Selwood were both scrutinised for their ‘ducking’ to win free kicks, while Greene was under the spotlight for kicking a player in the face during a marking contest. As a result of their actions, it can be argued they are now adjudicated more harshly than the regular player.
(Photo: Blair Burns)
Fisher said particular players were focussed on by the media, but insisted that didn't change the way he and his fellow umpires went about their jobs.
“The media may focus more on certain players which is of interest to viewers and readers, but it doesn’t change how we go about our role," he said.
“He [Jack Ginnivan] has been a big focus of the media but there are many other players in the competition that have done the same thing throughout 2021.”
At the beginning of the 2022 season, there were some new rules and interpretations introduced into the game, which Fisher felt had also contributed to the difficulty of umpiring. When you add these rule changes to the very tough job of interpreting the gameplay, it has resulted in more pressure on umpiring decisions. He said that last season in particular, there had been more of a focus on umpiring than ever before.
“I think there were periods early in the season where there was something written on umpiring nearly every day, one reason that may account for this is the change in interpretation of a few rules," Fisher said.
He says all umpires have different views on the media and engaging with it. Personally, Fisher tries to turn a blind eye to the negative media.
“While I am a keen newsreader and I enjoy keeping up to date with AFL stories in the media, I don’t take too much notice if individual players are focused on in the media,” he said.
(Photo: Blair Burns)
Course Leader of Holmesglen's Sports Media and Sport Business degrees, Samuel Duncan agreed that there was a significant link, but there wasn't enough research being done to draw firm conclusions about the media’s impact.
“The analysis of the media’s impact on the play element in professional sport has been less thoroughly explored,” he said.
“The analysis of that league highlights the merger of the media field with the sport field [the AFL] and explores the impact this has had on the AFL and in particular, its play element.”
Duncan is an expert in the field and conducted surveys and interviews from a number of AFL fans supporting different clubs , it was clear from this that the AFL fan base shared the same views.
“They [the responses] provide insight into how the changing structures and actions within the AFL, and its impact on the play element, have been observed in practice by members of the AFL’s community,” he said.
While the media has changed the way players and umpires are perceived which has made all umpires’ jobs even tougher than they initially were, Fisher said it was an essential part of the game.
“The game wouldn’t be able to operate at the level it does without the media, so in that sense it plays a vital role,” he said.
“The media is very powerful, as supporters are invested in the game and demand having all the information accessible almost immediately.”
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