Umpiring

 

Unlike many other codes of football, where the official is called a referee, in Australian Football the officials borrow their title from the game of cricket, which is played on the same types of fields and was an important aspect in the origin of the code (umpires sometimes officiated both sports in the early days of the game).

There are 3 different types of umpires in Australian Football:

Field Umpire - generally responsible for doing a bounce down and ball-up during stoppages, awarding free kicks, penalties and reports.

Boundary Umpire - determine if the ball has left the field of play and also return the ball to the field umpire in the centre circle to recommence play

Goal Umpire - the official score keepers who signal goals and behinds and work in tandem with the boundary umpires when the ball goes out of play near the goal posts.

 

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