Broadcasters have pushed for it and they probably believe it has added to the viewers’ experience in recent times.
But microphones have definitely put pressure on the umpires, which is unfair.
I understand why they’re miked up from an education point of view, but having them linked up to television probably isn’t necessary.
If it’s a tool that helps the umpires and the umpires’ coaches work more closely together, then I’m all for that.
But when it’s only for television then I think it’s fraught with danger.
I haven’t noticed whether the umpires are talking any more than they have previously, but at the weekend I did notice commentators were actually commenting on umpires a lot more.
That just isn’t healthy for Australian football.
Microphones will pick up the heated, animated argument from a player as he protests a decision.
Occasionally you can hear swearing through the microphone, which is not a great image for our game, while I don’t think hearing any banter that goes on out on the ground helps the coverage at all.
In the instances where you can hear something, the commentators are likely to focus on the umpires, which isn’t fair on them and takes attention away from the game.
After all, everyone’s there to watch the 44 players running around.
Of course, the umps haven’t always been subjected to the same amount of scrutiny.
In fact, I remember the great thing about when I used to play was the more relaxed environment in which umpires were allowed to go about their job.
Footy wasn’t always so serious.
If I copped a bad decision, sure I might tell the umpire that I thought he was wrong – as today’s players do.
But, without the intrusion of technology to please the viewers at home, the umpires of yesteryear would give as good as they got.
“Roosy, I wouldn’t worry about how we’re going, you’re having a shocker today,” the umpire might give back.
But that was fine, and in the spirit of how things were back then.
It was a lot more light-hearted and there was a lot more banter.
In one State-of-Origin game, I remember one umpire almost coaching me, telling me where to run.
When I turned around I was shocked that it was an umpire and not a player.
But again, it was more light-hearted and it actually gave you something to talk to the umpires about after the game, which was common practice after matches.
“Geez, you were ordinary today,” I might tell the man in white at an after-match function.
“I was bad, you were worse,” he’d reply.
“Yeah, you’re right, I was terrible.”
Today, things have changed. I think the microphones are partly responsible for that change, as they’ve taken away that light-heartedness.
Footy is a serious game, and players and umpires don’t know each other.
There are no after-match functions where umpires and players can mix, while I think the microphones have also adversely affected the ability of an umpire to talk to a player in a more natural way with players.
It’s a lot more clinical. They know people are not only watching their every move but, more importantly, they’re also listening to every word.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
