The former AFL umpire implicated in a Brownlow Medal betting scandal in 2022 has taken to social media to sink the boots into Fremantle defender Jordan Clark, over his role in the controversial umpire dissent moment late in the Dockers’ loss to Carlton.
After Blue Matthew Cottrell goalled to put the Blues in front in the final minute, the Dockers, adamant Cottrell’s mark had been touched by James Aish, debated the point with the umpires, eventually conceding a free kick for dissent.
Matthew Kennedy put through the goal from the subsequent free kick to seal Carlton’s win.
The nature of the abuse which led to the free kick is yet to be revealed by the AFL, while there is likewise uncertainty over the identity of the Dockers player penalised, though Freo coach Justin Longmuir said post-match he ‘think[s] it was against ‘Clarky”.
Debate has since raged on social media over the late controversy, with many accusing the umpires of costing Fremantle the win; however, ex-umpire Michael Pell, who was arrested in late 2022 and interviewed by detectives over allegations he engaged in conduct that corrupted that year’s Brownlow Medal, went in the opposite direction.
Taking to X, Pell revealed he’d given Clark a stern warning during a scratch match in 2020 to speak more respectfully to umpires – some two years before the league introduced the controversial ‘rule’ to penalise players far more harshly for incidents of dissent.
“The irony in all this is that I warned Jordan Clark in a Covid 14v14 nothing game when he was a spoilt brat and carrying on that he needed to stop abusing umpires,” Pell wrote.
“Guess he still hasn’t learnt. Stinky attitude and any wonder Geelong were happy to see the back of him.”
Clark was among the Dockers’ best in their heartbreaking loss, finishing with 30 disposals and a game second-high 627 metres gained.
Naturally, Pell’s harsh words received brutal blowback on social media, with some mentioning the allegations of Brownlow Medal fixing, though no charges were ever laid.
Speaking after the match, Dockers coach Justin Longmuir lamented the loss, but said his team ‘should have just got on with it’.
“I’ll have to dig a little bit deeper, but we should have just got on with it, even if they weren’t happy with the call before,” Longmuir said.
“There’s not much you can do. Our players clearly thought they had touched the footy, and they’ll still say that now.
“But that’s a really hard call for the umpire to make without going to a replay and we don’t want to do that for every decision.
“The umpires are never going to backtrack, are they? So we just needed to move on and control what we can control.”