Umpire Critisism - Yes or No?

[northernblue]

I think there should be an avenue for a coach and club to say they aer raising a concern over the umpire as they think the match was poorly refereed, but it has to be 100% respectful.

Poor behaviour by top level coaches just encourages coaches at lower levels. They are not going to change a result by bitching to the media about it, so really it is just meeting their own desire to get steam off and protect against pressure from a result.

Allow the media to ask about a decision, state that you think they got it wrong and yes you will be raising it with the relevant bodies and then move on. Never get personal, never imply that a ref/umpire lacks integrity.

It can’t be public.
“There are decisions we will seek clarification on” should be all that is allowed publicly, and if that comment is not followed up by the club by making a formal complaint they should be penalised.
There should be a public explanation as a result of such complaints/investigations, maybe not every case, but enough to cover most situations...

Players and umpires will always make mistakes... all we can do is ensure the integrity of the errors (honest mistakes and not corruption or vendetta)
Largely I believe umpiring mistakes are like picking up an oval footy, just part of the game.