Worst Umpiring Decision in the History of Football

[Velour&Ruffles]

Inspired by the thread Ok. Have held off long enough , I have held off long enough on something else and also have to get it off my chest.

Watching the season highlights DVD, I'm now convinced that there has never, ever, in the history of our great game, been a worse umpiring decision than that in Round 4 versus the Kangaroos. Even now, I boil with rage when I see Gary Rohan - with eyes for nothing but the ball - have his leg broken by a sliding Lindsay Thomas and then, in a season when the AFL actively trumpeted that it was going to crack down on sliding because of the safety risk to players' legs, having a free kick actually paid AGAINST him! WTF? Even seeing it on mutliple replays and in slo-mo, I cannot even begin to imagine what was going through the umpire's tiny brain. Perhaps Neil Sachse should have been penalised too (apologies to those too yound to know what I am referring to here).

So congratualtions Umpire Effwitte, you have a place in football immortality. Amongst hundreds of thousands - perhaps millions - of decisions over more than a century, you have the exclusive privilege of making the most mind-bogglingly incompetent decision that has ever been made. Including the 2012 Grand Final, and God knows there were plenty of crap decisions in that.

[albrotha]

Game versus Hawthorn at SCG when ROK had what looked like being a HTB decision which was called as a free against.
Then shortly after the obvious 50m penalty that the umpire decided to not award when the ball was kicked away before the free could be taken

[Cpt. Kirk]

I reckon the worst was the one in the grand final when hodge tackled jack on the wing in the last quarter, it ended up being a ball up but it went to a slow motion of the tackle and tom harley says as it finishes "nope, no free there" and hodge is pressing his elbow into jacks face.

[goswannie14]

I reckon the worst was the one in the grand final when hodge tackled jack on the wing in the last quarter, it ended up being a ball up but it went to a slow motion of the tackle and tom harley says as it finishes "nope, no free there" and hodge is pressing his elbow into jacks face.

In fairness to Tom Harley he was actually saying there was no free there for Hawthorn which is what Hodge was appealing for.

[graemed]

In fairness to Tom Harley he was actually saying there was no free there for Hawthorn which is what Hodge was appealing for.

This decision was one of a series that set my teeth on edge eevn now. The Bird "non-mark" courtesy of a clumsy, illegal spoil by Hodge and then the free TO HODGE for a much lesser offence was adding insult to injury.

[Hartijon]

Surely the three 50 metre penalties in a row against Bad Barry rate right up there .The Hawthorn players were sticking their heads underneath his arms and totally sucking the umpires in.Pathetic umpiring although the Barry /Stenglein mistake was monumental and cost us!

[Nico]

Surely the three 50 metre penalties in a row against Bad Barry rate right up there .The Hawthorn players were sticking their heads underneath his arms and totally sucking the umpires in.Pathetic umpiring although the Barry /Stenglein mistake was monumental and cost us!

Disagree on this one. I saw it as Hall getting sucked in, in a pathetic effort of self serving insolence when we had all the momentum. Watching replays of games in 2012 I have noticed the incredible discipline of players in all aspects of the game. For example when opposition players were over the ball our players clearly avoided making head high or even any contact if they were a fraction second to the ball, to prevent giving away a free. Pity BBH didn't have the same disciplines.

[Triple B]

Hard to beat the Leo Barry/Stenglein free in the 2005 QF as one of the worst ever.

A free to Solomon against Craig Bolton v Essendon MCG 2004 lives in my memory as the worst.

[Sandridge]

Hard to beat the Leo Barry/Stenglein free in the 2005 QF as one of the worst ever.

Absolutely, positively, definitely the worst decision of all time! Cost us the game and would have cost a lesser team the Premiership!

[Industrial Fan]

A free to Solomon against Craig Bolton v Essendon MCG 2004 lives in my memory as the worst.

I concur with that one, and still refer to it frequently. What a howler.

On the other hand, I should probably move on at some point...

[sharp9]

Hard to beat the Leo Barry/Stenglein free in the 2005 QF as one of the worst ever.

A free to Solomon against Craig Bolton v Essendon MCG 2004 lives in my memory as the worst.

Those are definitely the two...saved me writing it up :-)......the reason they are worse than the Rohan decision is that there were SOME extenuating circumstances explaining the umpire's mistake.....(1) Thomas go his hands to the ball first and (2) Rohan DID land on his back. Still an absolutely dreadful decision. But with the two above you just have to look at them and go HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE????????? So they are clear winners......just ahead of NOT paying a fifty against Burgoyne(?) in the SCG game right at the end.....especially when we had at least 4 50s costing goals (or shots at goal) that should not have been paid....at least 2 against Mike and one against Sammy.

[aardvark]

Inspired by the thread Ok. Have held off long enough , I have held off long enough on something else and also have to get it off my chest.

Watching the season highlights DVD, I'm now convinced that there has never, ever, in the history of our great game, been a worse umpiring decision than that in Round 4 versus the Kangaroos. Even now, I boil with rage when I see Gary Rohan - with eyes for nothing but the ball - have his leg broken by a sliding Lindsay Thomas and then, in a season when the AFL actively trumpeted that it was going to crack down on sliding because of the safety risk to players' legs, having a free kick actually paid AGAINST him! WTF? Even seeing it on mutliple replays and in slo-mo, I cannot even begin to imagine what was going through the umpire's tiny brain. Perhaps Neil Sachse should have been penalised too (apologies to those too yound to know what I am referring to here).

So congratualtions Umpire Effwitte, you have a place in football immortality. Amongst hundreds of thousands - perhaps millions - of decisions over more than a century, you have the exclusive privilege of making the most mind-bogglingly incompetent decision that has ever been made. Including the 2012 Grand Final, and God knows there were plenty of crap decisions in that.

RWO rant of the year.....love it!