From The Contested Footy site
The Pink Umpire debacle
After Friday nights game against Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs the question has to be asked what is the AFL thinking? The AFL has in recent times made a point of ensuring that the umpires are distinguishable form the players on the ground. This has meant a shift from the traditional all white attire to an assortment of colours depending on the teams playing.
Last night however the AFL decided it would be wise to have the umpires in a pink shirt and black shorts. You may think, well that is not an issue is it? Well it is when the Demons have already marked their intentions to wear a strip that contained pink instead of the traditional red. Make no mistake I think the gesture from the AFL is great to show their support for a worthy cause but surely it could have been done in another way.
I say this because late in the last quarter Melbourne players could be seen in the heat of battle handball directly towards the umpire due to the pink strip. This I believe is understandable from a player knowing that their jumper on the night consisted of pink in the top half. If this was not a close game questions would not be being asked. However Melbourne was leading when Clint Bartram handballed to what he believed to be a team mate, which turned out to be an umpire. The result was a turn over and subsequent goal to the Dogs. Captain of Melbourne James McDonald has said on the issue “I don’t think it was thought through too well. As players we make mistakes and obviously someone’s made a mistake at the AFL.”
The AFL has apologized for the mistake which is no consolation for the Melbourne Football Club or football fans. This is a multi-million dollar business and mistake like this should not be happening. Clubs live and die by wins and for a club to be at a disadvantage due to the umpire’s attire is ridiculous in 2010. I personally never had a problem with the all white strip the umps have worn for over a century. Yes it way not be great for telecasts but who watches the umpires anyway? No club has an all white strip, yes Collingwood, North Melbourne and Geelong have plenty of white but it was never an issue before.
Consistency is all we ask for as supporters of this great game. The AFL should be doing more to make sure mistake like this do not occur. The standard was set the umpires should not clash with the clubs jumpers, which I have no problems with. But to suddenly change the rules seems like a ridiculous decision considering the subsequent clash that eventuated.