AFL umpire arrested over Brownlow Medal betting scandal

Suspicious betting patterns have put the Brownlow Medal and AFL umpires in the spotlight, following a bombshell announcement and arrests by the Victoria Police Sporting Integrity Unit.

The arrests of four men relate to a police investigation into the premature release of voting tallies for one of the AFL’s most prestigious awards for the 2022 season.

“It’s alleged that a person with knowledge of the voting tally of these matches distributed the information to a group of people known to them,” the statement read.

It is understood that an AFL umpire is one of the people that is of interest to Victoria Police.

The investigation is said to be centred around spot betting, rather than outright Brownlow result betting, with at least one match in the first half of the season coming under the microscope of investigators.

Police were quick to say that there is no evidence to suggest the vote count was impacted, after Carlton’s Patrick Cripps won the award back in September of this year.

“Victorians are well known for their love of AFL and in particular, the prestigious Brownlow Medal award, but equally they want to know that there is integrity, fairness and honesty behind this award,” the statement said.

“We have been working with the AFL and Sport Integrity Australia in relation to these matters, and we will continue to work together to target, disrupt and apprehend people who commit these offences.”

Deb Robertson, a commander from Victoria Police’s Intelligence and Covert Support Command, explained that there is a special team of detectives working on this case.

Those arrested include two 32-year-old men from Glenroy, a 29-year-old man from Oak Park, and a 27-year-old man from Drouin.

“All four men are currently in custody assisting police with their inquiries and the investigation is ongoing,” the statement said.

“These offences carry up to 10 years’ imprisonment.”

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