Written by It’s imperative that there is an even playing field at all times in competitive sports for the game to be fairly played. When errors were made during player interchange in St Kilda’s round 15 demolition of Richmond, there ended up being a surplus of players for the side. The AFL has been accused of turning a blind eye.
Late in the first quarter of the game where the Saints were trouncing the defending premiers that the incident occurred unnoticed by the umpire. Three players had come to the bench with four replacing them as Jimmy Webster, Seb Ross, Mason Wood, and Rowan Marshall all came onto the field. It is believed that Marshall, the 19th player, was on the field for nearly half a minute before the Saints bench realized there was an extra player on the field.
It had been reported that the AFL interchange steward had observed the extra player running onto the field but didn’t notify umpires because they made the call that the player didn’t impact the outcome despite a winning hit out at a boundary throw-in after running on the field. According to the rules, the punishment for such a blunder is a free-kick and a 50m penalty. An extra man allowed on the field can also in some instances cause a team’s score for the quarter to be wiped.
The Richmond Tigers were denied the free-kick that should have rightly been awarded to them following this imbalance in players.
While mistakes can and will happen, the policy established should be followed to the letter to ensure fairness. Picking and choosing which rules to follow and which breaches to report opens the door for intentional corruption. This is also an issue with recent breaches in covid rules, where allowances have been made for some but not others.
A document produced by the Australia New Zealand Sports Law Association (ANZSLA) prefaces succinctly the relevance of not turning a blind eye in sports. Intended largely as a document for grassroots sports, the premise remains the same no matter what level being played at. The document entitled “Sport and the law” explains the importance of sport as a vehicle for community cohesion, a means of bringing people together. Because organized sport makes for such a competitive and fast-moving environment, emotions run high, and rivalries escalate. An understanding of the rules and an across-the-board adherence to those rules is the only way to ensure transparency and fairness in the game being played.
The culture that has been developed within the teams and clubs should be one that promotes faithfulness to the rules and mandates set down. Coaches have a large responsibility here too in ensuring that the culture of fair play filters through to the players as well.
Competition is fruitless if the same rules aren’t applied on both sides.
St Kilda Vs Richmond, AFL news 2021: 19 men on the field, Rowan Marshall, free kick, round 15