The Ashes have been reclaimed, the tennis is all over, and now we officially begin footy pre-season. It's a magical time of year where every footy fan dares to dream. Miracles happen! Your team that missed finals last year may burst out and go all the way! (Yes, even you North!)
Humans have evolved to forget many traumas of childbirth and the relentlessness of raising a baby. Which is a cunning trick by nature to trick us into having multiple children. It's the same with footy, during the barmy nights of February when we read of our heroes training the house down with their elite muscular pre-season bodies, we forget that for the majority of footy fans 2026 will end in frustration.
A large portion of that frustration will be directed at the men and women in flouro. So just to remind you that footy fandom is a cruel existence, I've researched the worst umpiring decision against each club for the 21st century:
*The point of this article isn't to name and shame umpires who've made errors. We all know it's a hard job and we're all human. Don't get personal, just yell into the abyss like a well-adjusted grown up.
Carlton
2011 Semi-Final vs West Coast at Subiaco. Absolute grudge match as Chris Judd plays against his old side in a knockout final. In the dying stages, the Blues kick forward and Quinten Lynch grabs the ball and attempts to smash through a pack and drops it, holding the ball is not paid, the ball falls to a very young Zac Touhy, who boots it to the square where Darren Glass is blatantly holding Andrew Walker, no holding the man.
Two non-calls that made Carlton fans wonder if things could ever get worse for their club. The football gods laughed.
