THE AFL congratulates boundary umpire Ian Burrows who will officiate his 400th AFL match during the Round 14 Richmond v Hawthorn game at the MCG this Saturday.
A career close to 20 years, Burrows umpired his first AFL match in 2006, after beginning his umpiring journey with the Yarra Valley Umpires Association.
Burrows has officiated 10 AFL Grand Finals and been a three-time All Australian Umpire. Across his career, Burrows has also run over 1280km backwards (approximately). This is the equivalent of running from Melbourne to Brisbane.
AFL Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Dillon said that Ian's achievement was a tremendous effort.
"Ian's dedication to Umpiring at the highest level is outstanding.
"To reach 400 games is an incredible milestone. His peers, and the broader umpiring and football industry is thrilled to be celebrating him this Saturday.
"On behalf of the AFL, I'd like to congratulate Ian and his family on this achievement and look forward to seeing him on the MCG on Saturday in what will be a memorable occasion for all."
AFL Executive General Manager Football Laura Kane congratulated Ian on this momentous milestone.
"Ian's dedication to his umpiring craft has been admirable. His career record speaks for itself, with over 10 AFL/VFL Grand Finals in tow," Ms Kane said.
"This weekend, I'm looking forward to applauding Ian and his work in our umpiring team. It truly is an amazing accomplishment and we thank him for his contribution to our game thus far."
The AFL historian has compiled the following key stats:
- AFL Grand Final – 2008, 2010 and 2010 replay, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2023
- Murray Williams Shield – 2014 and 2016
- All Australian Umpire – 2010, 2012 an d 2015
- Yarra Valley Grand Final – 2001
- TAC Cup Grand Finals – 2002, 2003
- VFL Reserves Grand Final – 2004
- Interstate Match, VFL v SANFL – 2005
- VFL Grand Final – 2005
- Bill Sutton Medallion – 2007
