Ex-AFL umpire Michael Pell fronted the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday after being charged with six fraudulent betting offences in relation to the 2021 Brownlow Medal count.
Court documents state that Pell, who has not umpired an AFL game since 2022, has been accused of communicating confidential information from six AFL games about which player was to be awarded three Brownlow Medal votes, or any Brownlow Medal votes, to three men ahead of the annual awards night in September 2021.
Pell has also been accused of placing bets of his own on the 2021 Brownlow count, allegedly doing so under a pseudonym of "Lincoln Busby" via sports betting companies Ladbrokes, Neds and Sportsbet.
Doing so with "possession of information in connection with the event contingency about conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome of the event" is a crime, and AFL policies state that league personnel as a whole, from umpires to players to other staff, are not allowed to gamble on the game whatsoever.
Pell has been charged along with three other men: his brother Donovan, 32-year-old Mitch Lucas and 34-year-old William Forde.
The quartet were allegedly involved in a $300,000 fraudulent betting scheme during the season.
Port Adelaide midfielder Ollie Wines won the 2021 Brownlow Medal with 36 votes, three more than Bulldogs superstar Marcus Bontempelli.
To those of us who have played the game and are at the games now and are “nonplussed” at the umpiring “decisions” – it all becomes just that little bit clearer….
Is “spot bet” information given to offshore betting operations?
Only a fool would bet on the brownlow with a false name – but someone with a little more “nous” would try something less obvious?