brownlow-medal

At least 10 matches from the 2022 AFL season are said to be linked to the Brownlow betting scandal that has seen field umpire Michael Pell, along with three other men, arrested following an illegal gambling operation.

Pell is alleged to have disclosed information of the voting tally for an array of matches from this season, with the Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit having confronted four men and police arresting them earlier this week.

The four men, who are assisting police, could face up to 10 years imprisonment following charges.

Pell officiated as an on-field umpire in 16 games this season. Those matches were:

Round 1: Hawthorn vs North Melbourne
Round 2: Brisbane vs Essendon
Round 3: GWS vs Gold Coast
Round 4: Richmond vs Western Bulldogs
Round 5: St Kilda vs Gold Coast
Round 6: Fremantle vs Carlton
Round 7: GWS vs Adelaide
Round 8: Essendon vs Hawthorn
Round 9: Sydney vs Essendon
Round 10: Western Bulldogs vs Gold Coast
Round 11: Port Adelaide vs Essendon
Round 14: Geelong vs West Coast
Round 15: Port Adelaide vs Gold Coast
Round 16: Collingwood vs Gold Coast
Round 18: North Melbourne vs Richmond
Round 20: Gold Coast vs West Coast

According to The Age, thousands of dollars in bets were laid on at least 10 of the 16 matches, with the bets placed on which player would poll three Brownlow votes in respective games.

In a further report from News Corp, the publication alleges that two matches where Pell was an emergency umpire have also been linked.

While emergency umpires won't have a final verdict in the voting, they can offer insight to the three field umpires and will have an understanding of the voting outcome for that particular game.

It has been reported that the Queen's Birthday clash between Collingwood and Melbourne and the Round 23 match between St Kilda and Sydney have gained scrutiny.

Both of those matches saw somewhat surprising outcomes when it came to the voting tallies on Brownlow night, with Magpies forward Brody Mihocek claiming the three votes ahead of Neale Daniher Trophy winner Clayton Oliver.

In the Round 23 game, St Kilda took out the 3-2-1 voting despite losing to Sydney, with Dan Hannebery claiming the best-afield honours.

The AFL released a statement on Monday following the quartet of arrests, confirming an AFL umpire was among those in police custody. It wasn't until later that day that Pell was identified as the match official.