1 in 5 community footy umpires have been assaulted, while others cop death threats: new research

Umpires’ decisions often upset sports fans, especially during a close contest.

At most games, spectators boo loudly, coaches throw their hands up in frustration and players can yell or even physically intimidate officials.

It seems abusing umpires is acceptable. But why? It’s certainly not something generally tolerated in other workplaces.

Without umpires, games simply couldn’t go ahead.

That’s why we sought to shed light on the situation by researching what it’s really like to be an Australian rules umpire.

Not for the faint-hearted

Umpires (also called referees or match officials) apply the rules of their respective sports to ensure fair and safe competitions for all players.

They participate in training and accreditation programs to learn rules and apply them based on the demands of the game.

They need to be physically fit and position themselves appropriately around the playing field.

But many sport organisations are struggling to provide enough qualified officials at grassroots levels. Between 1993 and 2010, there was a 28% decline in active sport officials in Australia.

Football Australia, soccer’s governing body here, boasts 11,000 officials but estimates around 4,200 leave their roles every year.

In many sports, teenagers are increasingly stepping in to umpire junior and senior games to back-fill shortages.

However, Australian rules football appears to be defying this trend – the number of community umpires surpassed 20,000 for the first time in 2024. This is an 18% increase in umpire registrations compared to 2023, largely driven by a 31% rise in registrations by women and girls.

Despite these record numbers, the Australian Football League (AFL), and many sports organisations including Rugby Australia and the A-League, are worried about retaining officials.

Abuse towards officials is one of the primary areas of concern.

Our research focused particularly on what was happening in Australian rules football.

Abuse and even death threats

We surveyed 356 umpires across all levels of Australian rules football competition to examine their experiences of abuse.

Almost half reported receiving regular verbal abuse (name-calling, insults, swearing and threats). Worryingly, 21% said they had experienced physical abuse (pushing, hitting, or assault).

As one state-level umpire remarked:

Over time, you end up developing a thick skin.

Encouragingly, most umpires knew the process to officially report any abuse received, with more than half indicating they had formally reported at least one incident of abuse.

While many felt supported through the reporting process, only 62% were satisfied with the outcome.

As one state-league umpire recalled:

I was assaulted two years ago by a spectator. Lucky I was bigger than him. I was disappointed he only got a one-year suspension from attending games.

Further, a senior community football umpire commented:

I was threatened with my life this year and the league did nothing about it.

What can be done?

Many respondents commented on the need to support young umpires to have positive experiences.

One potential strategy is to make it clearer when officials are underage.

As one example, Netball Victoria provides a green band or scrunchie to any umpire under the age of 18 to promote respect from players, coaches and spectators.

Other codes could look to implement similar strategies.

Most of our responding umpires called for the introduction of tougher penalties in games and through tribunal systems.

Some called for clubs to be fined or spectators banned for repeated incidents of abuse.

Others commended the AFL’s stricter interpretation of umpire abuse in 2022, which mandated a 50-metre penalty for any player showing dissent.

Additionally, umpires felt clubs needed to take greater responsibility for the actions of players, coaches and spectators.

One umpire told us:

Cultural change needs to come from within clubs because top-down campaigns encouraging respect don’t change hearts and minds.

This could be in the form of creating a positive club culture and zero-tolerance abuse policies.

In our research, umpires said it was crucial that governing bodies communicated both the level of evidence required to report abuse, and how tribunals worked.

As younger officials may not know the process, having this information embedded in umpire training may help umpires feel more supported in reporting abuse.

Equally, appropriate penalties must be handed down to ensure umpires have faith in the reporting system.

While the number of Australian rules football umpires has increased in recent years, these numbers can also decrease quickly.

If we want to retain umpires for the medium and long-term, we need governing bodies such as the AFL to address the frequency and severity with which umpire abuse occurs.

As one umpire commented:

Cases of abuse need to have consequences, not just a slap on the wrist. Why would anyone want to go out and be abused for two hours?