Umpire abuse refers to the act of abuse towards an umpire, referee, or other official in sport. The abuse can be verbal abuse (such as namecalling), or physical abuse (such as punching). For example, Australian Football League spectators use the term "white maggot" (derived from their formerly white uniforms) towards umpires at games, [1] when they do not agree with an umpire's decision.
Umpire abuse has become quite common in sport, practiced by players, coaches and spectators, with one Australian Football league having half the tribunal cases heard about umpire abuse. [2] There have also been some high-profile cases of abuse towards the umpires in sport, with one Australian football player suspended for life after striking an umpire. [3]
In 1996, Major League Baseball (MLB) player Roberto Alomar spat in umpire John Hirschbeck's face during a dispute. Alomar received a five-game suspension for the incident, but the punishment was served during the following season, and not the 1996 playoffs. MLB umpires, upset over the lack of an immediate suspension, threatened to go on strike before a federal judge prevented them from doing so. [4]
During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Angel Valodia Matos from Cuba pushed and then kicked a referee in the face during a Taekwondo match. He was disqualified for taking too much injury time in the bronze medal match by referee Chakir Chelbat, before kicking Chelbat in the face. The referee required stitches in his lip after the attack. The World Taekwondo Federation has banned Matos and his coach from taekwondo competitions for life. [5]
In 2016, Mark Jamar, an Essendon AFL player has been fined $1500 for umpire abuse. The umpire, Mathew Nicholls, reported Jamar after he expressed his annoyance that he wasn't awarded a free kick in a marking contest. [6]
Leagues and the like are trying to stop abuse towards umpires.
In Australian rules football, attempting to strike or striking an umpire, abusing or threatening an umpire, or disputing an umpires decision is a reportable offense, per the Laws of Australian Football. It is also possible to send a player off for up to the remainder of the game for abusing an umpire, however this is only usually practiced at amateur and junior level. There have also been other programs trailed, such as making players suspended for umpire abuse attend umpire training sessions. [2]
In cricket, the preamble to the Laws of Cricket state that it is not within the spirit of cricket to abuse an umpire, and to dispute their decisions.
In ice hockey, it is against the rules to dispute a referee's decision, although the team captains can skate out and discuss the calls with the referees and linesmen. After a warning (and a minor penalty), arguing with a referee, or starting a fight with a referee is grounds for a game misconduct, which results in ejection for the offending player or coach.
In baseball, it is against the rules for any coach, manager, or player to question the umpire's judgement on a call on the field, or on balls and strikes. If a coach, manager, or player begins to walk toward the umpire with the intent to argue a call or balls and strikes, he will be warned to return to his bench or position. If he continues to advance, he will be ejected.
In the criminal justice system, some jurisdictions mandate more severe penalties when a person commits a crime against a sports official immediately prior to, during, or immediately following any athletic contest in which the umpire, referee, or judge is participating in an official capacity. For instance, in the US state of California, section 243.8 of the Penal Code specifies that battery against a sports official shall result in a fine that does not exceed more than $2000, or imprisonment with the sentence not exceeding one year. Battery against a sports official has more severe penalties than simple battery against a civilian, as in section 243. California's maximum incarceration penalty for battery on a sports official is twice as lengthy as the maximum sentence for simple battery. [7]
Gaelic football, commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kicking or punching the ball into the other team's goal or between two upright posts above the goal and over a crossbar 2.5 metres above the ground.
In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make decisions about events on the cricket field according to the Laws of Cricket. Besides making decisions about legality of delivery, appeals for wickets and general conduct of the Game in a legal manner, the umpire also keeps a record of the deliveries and announces the completion of an over.
An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection.
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titles depending on the sport, including umpire, judge, arbiter (chess), commissaire, or technical official. Referees may be assisted by umpires, linesmen, timekeepers, touch judges, or video review officials.
The ICC Cricket Code of Conduct is a regulation regarding the conduct of professional players in the sport of cricket. Traditionally, cricket requires "gentlemanly" conduct from all players. The Code of Conduct is written and enforced by the International Cricket Council.
In association football, the referee is the person responsible for interpreting and enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. The referee is the final decision-making authority on all facts connected with play, and is the match official with the authority to start and stop play and impose disciplinary action against players and coaches during a match.
Instant replay or action replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred which was both shot and broadcast live.
In sports, an ejection is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending upon the sport, but common causes for ejection include unsportsmanlike conduct, violent acts against another participant that are beyond the sport's generally accepted standards for such acts, abuse against officials, violations of the sport's rules that the contest official deems to be egregious, or the use of an illegal substance to better a player's game. Most sports have provisions that allow players to be ejected, and many allow for the ejection of coaches, managers, or other non-playing personnel. In sports that use penalty cards, a red card is often used to signal dismissals. In some sports, another player is permitted to enter the game in place of the player who has been ejected, but in others the team is required to continue the game with a reduced number of players.
The laws of Australian rules football were first defined by the Melbourne Football Club in 1859 and have been amended over the years as Australian rules football evolved into its modern form. The Australian Football Council (AFC), was formed in 1905 and became responsible for the laws, although individual leagues retained a wide discretion to vary them. Following the restructure of the Victorian Football League's competition as a national competition and the League's renaming to be the Australian Football League (AFL), since 1994, the rules for the game have been maintained by the AFL through its Commission and its Competition Committee.
In the sport of Australian rules football, the 50-metre penalty is applied by umpires to a number of different infractions when a free kick or mark has already been paid.
An umpire is an official in the sport of Australian rules football who adjudicates the game according to the "Laws Of The Game", the official handbook of Australian Rules Football. Umpiring the game of AFL across all leagues has been subject to long history of abuse, which in more recent times the AFL has taken steps to help stamp out.
Penalty cards are used in many sports as a means of warning, reprimanding or penalising a player, coach or team official. Penalty cards are most commonly used by referees or umpires to indicate that a player has committed an offence. The official will hold the card above their head while looking or pointing toward the player who has committed the offence. This action makes the decision clear to all players, as well as spectators and other officials in a manner that is language-neutral. The colour or shape of the card used by the official indicates the type or seriousness of the offence and the level of punishment that is to be applied. Yellow and red cards are the most common, typically indicating, respectively, cautions and dismissals.
Unsportsmanlike conduct is a foul or offense in many sports that violates the sport's generally accepted rules of sportsmanship and participant conduct. Examples include verbal abuse or taunting of an opponent or a game official, an excessive celebration following a significant play, or feigning injury. The official rules of many sports include a general provision whereby participants or an entire team may be penalized or otherwise sanctioned for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The event of Taekwondo competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing. It was held between August 20th and August 23rd at the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium. The event consisted of various athletes, there were 128 Taekwondo practitioners, consisting of 64 men and 64 women. These athletes competed in 8 events, where for the first time ever, two bronze medals were awarded per event.
Richard Patrick Condon was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood and Richmond in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) and the Victorian Football League (VFL) across two decades in the 1890s and 1900s.
The 1885 Victorian Football Association season was the 9th season of the Australian rules football competition. The premiership was won by the South Melbourne Football Club. It was the club's second VFA premiership.
Ángel Valodia Matos Fuentes is a former Cuban taekwondo athlete. He received a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and added another at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The men's +80 kg competition in taekwondo at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing took place on August 23 at the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium.
In sports, a foul is an inappropriate or unfair act by a player as deemed by a referee, usually violating the rules of the sport or game. A foul may be intentional or accidental, and often results in a penalty. Even though it may not be intentional, fouling can still cause serious harm or injury to opposing players, or even their own players if unaware of their surroundings during particular situations on sports. Fouls are used in many different sports. Often own teammates can clash and foul each other by accident, such as both going for and with eyes on a ball in AFL. Strategical fouls violate the traditional norms of cooperation and agreement to the essential rules and regulations of the game, or are perhaps not part of the games at all.
The 1967 VFA Division 1 Grand Final was an Australian rules football match played between the Dandenong Redlegs and the Port Melbourne Borough. The match was held on Sunday 24 September 1967 at the Punt Road Oval in Jolimont, Melbourne, to decide the Division 1 Premiership for the 1967 Victorian Football Association season.