One of the most basic and fundamental areas of the Australian Constitution is the ‘separation of powers’, that mandates our government is separate from and has no direct control over the courts and police.

The aim is to stop politicians from becoming dictators and using legal powers as punishment, like some countries around the world.

It’s time for the AFL to adopt the same approach with its on-field officiating. The umpiring department needs to operate completely independently of the league’s executive management.

As it stands, the newly appointed Head of Officiating, Stephen McBurney reports to General Manager of Football Operations Josh Mahoney, who then reports to AFL Executive General Manager, Laura Kane. She is directly under the CEO, Andrew Dillon.

Therefore, the umpiring department is ultimately under the control of the same management team who are also responsible for elements like finance, culture, commercial and corporate issues, plus the day-to-day running of the code.

When you are part of one of the biggest organisations in the country that commands so much publicity and attention, the lines dividing departments can be blurred. Who is to say that a commercial decision or stance on one side of the company’s operations won’t filter through to the on-field product?

The fallout after Collingwood’s controversial comeback win over North Melbourne exemplifies the dangers of such a system perfect. Not so much in the call itself, as umpires are human and make mistakes; but the follow-up PR from Kane and the league.

Many fans and commentators who watched the game were adamant there a 50-metre penalty late in the game was missed when two Magpies, Beau McCreery and Steele Sidebottom, encroached into the protected area after Bailey Scott took a mark.

The general consensus, maybe with the exception of some (but not all) Collingwood supporters, was that the Kangaroos were dudded, given a 50m penalty would have given Scott the chance to win the game with a set shot from close range.

But, what would us fans know?

Instead, the AFL has come out with a contrary stance, with Kane saying in a segment on the league’s website that the umpire was right to not award a 50m penalty, while at the same time conceding that the official erred by not calling play on, or directing the Magpies players to stand the mark.

Kane wanted the umpire to halt play and bring Scott back to take the kick from where he took the mark, because technically, it’s not a 50m penalty unless the umpire calls ‘stand’ – which he didn’t.

That’s a perfect example of Monday boardroom officiating on a technicality. These clarifications have led to more confusion for fans, players and even legends of the game than the actual on-field rulings.

It’s not the only time this season, either. On Sunday night, Channel Nine’s Footy Furnace presented a list of ten times where an umpire’s judgement call on a rule technicality at the end of a match has affected a result this season.

Even one of the game’s all time greats, Leigh Matthews, is confused watching the modern game, stating:

“There is so many technical-type judgment calls and because we are now in full-time footy in this era, where the coaches and players are rorting the rules, the umpires have to be really technical. They’re paying 50-metre penalties for things that you say ‘that shouldn’t be 50 metres’. But they have to because they have to be technical…But what it’s created is a whole lot of confusion.”

Channel Nine, Footy Furnace

The reason why there are so many ‘technical’ judgement calls is clear: the AFL as an organisation wants to completely control the public narrative from an organisational brand perspective.

That does not mean for one minute that calls are not wrong, or umpires don’t make mistakes – but because the AFL administration (now McBurney or Kane) has a process to follow, it can explain its way out of dubious calls or game-changing errors through its own public relations channels. And even when they admit to faults, like when McBurney stated an umpire had mistakenly paid Max King a crucial holding the man free kick in St Kilda’s narrow win over Gold Coast last week, they achieve nothing more than hanging that umpire out to dry.

Saints coach Ross Lyon made a good point leading into the last round that the AFL making public comment on umpiring decisions, either supporting or admitting fault in them, has to stop.

“I don’t like that the AFL comes out and clarifies it. I’ve been to big finals and moved on, and I just think why is one free kick more important than another? They say, ‘Yeah we missed that one, we missed that one’. So I’m not in agreeance with the AFL coming out and trying to rationalise and settle things down. How about: there’s a decision made, and we all accept it and move on? I just think it’s gone too far.”

The League has said it wants to be more ‘transparent’ with fans and media around game-related issues this season.

But what is the point when nothing can be done about it? The result can’t and won’t be changed even if there is an error – the ones they admit to occurring at least. The game is not going to be replayed, premiership points won’t be stripped, percentage won’t be altered.

It’s just an attention-grabbing exercise where the AFL wants to seem compassionate towards aggrieved fans, while not getting the ‘winning’ supporters off-side either.

As much as the decisions that went against North Melbourne in Collingwood’s massive comeback will still be hurting Kangaroos fans, because it affected the result, waiting for an excuse or explanation has been a futile exercise.

What needs to happen is umpire improvement, and the last thing officials need is added complexity, and feeling like their ‘bosses’ are reviewing every single move on a field to be publicly dissected later.

How difficult it must be for an umpire to pay a free kick, no matter how obvious, in the dying seconds of a close game if they know getting it wrong will see them publicly chastised by their higher-ups, like the umpire who made the King decision was.

There is too much for them to worry about as it is. Simplify the game, simplify the instructions they have to follow, and let them umpire free from interference.

Most importantly, give umpires back freedom and control. Rather than umpiring to the absolute letter of the law, so they can get the support of the AFL’s executive team (who also pay their wages), let them use more discretion in calls, more in line with the public’s interpretation.

An independent umpiring department with the correct people involved, one that doesn’t have to worry about the ‘image of the game’ would undoubtedly lead to smoother decision-making that is more in line with what players, fans and commentators understand and expect.

Also, it’s time to stop the umpire coaching through earpieces. Let them talk to each other on-field, but what’s the point of being someone there for encouragement? (If you believe that’s all they do, of course.)

It muddies the waters when you don’t know who is talking to them; the last thing you want is the opportunity for someone representing the AFL administration to impact on-field calls.

Football will always have umpiring blunders. But rather than just create a massive pile on an individual official, let’s make sure we develop a system to reduce the amount of big howlers in a systematic way.

The game is treating every error as individual moments – but maybe it needs to be looked at as a trend or pattern.

Completely separating the on-field officiating from the commercial side of the AFL business is a good start. Let the umpires officiate the game – and let the administration run the off-field business.