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Read Full BioVictoria police have charged four men in relation to betting on the AFL Brownlow Medal, with one identified as former AFL umpire Michael Pell.
The police released a statement noting that the four men face over 100 charges between them for illicit wagering on the 2021 and 2022 Brownlow Medals.
Pell, who officiated 17 games in the 2022 season, has been charged with six offences, including communicating corrupt information for betting purposes.
When the scandal came to light in November 2022, Pell was arrested, and the AFL terminated his contract. He has maintained his innocence in the case and is expected to plead not guilty when appearing in court on September 11.
A 35-year-old Reservoir man faces the most charges for 53 offences. Of these, 34 relate to the use of corrupt information for betting purposes. The identities of the other men have not been revealed.
The maximum penalty for the offences is level 5 imprisonment, which can result in a sentence of up to 10 years.
Umpire Allegedly Fed Information to Associates
The arrests followed an investigation into suspicious betting patterns related to best-on-ground votes given by Pell.
After each AFL match, the umpire awards one player 3 votes towards the Brownlow Medal for being best-on-ground. Two votes are given to the second player, and one to the third-best player.
The votes are supposed to be kept secret until the Brownlow Medal count, which determines the league’s fairest and best player of the season.
It is alleged that Pell fed information about which players he was awarding the votes to, and his associates then placed bets on the outcomes.
The exact details of the bets placed have not been publicly disclosed. The police statement noted, “As the matter is now before the courts, Victoria Police is not in a position to provide any further specific details.”
The AFL stated that the outcome of the Brownlow Medal was not affected by the betting scandal.
A-League Soccer Player Fined For Spot-Fixing
In another betting scandal in Australia, an A-League soccer player was sentenced for deliberately picking up yellow cards in matches this year.
Riku Danzaki pleaded guilty to the charges, admitting to deliberately trying to pick up bookings in three matches. His friend, Yuta Hirayama, an amateur soccer player, placed bets on Danzaki to be cautioned.
Both Danzaki and Hirayama were fined AU$5000 ($3209.50) for the offences. Their cooperation with law enforcement led to reduced sentences. Like those involved in the Brownlow Medal scandal, the maximum sentence was 10 years’ imprisonment.
In a similar spot-fixing case, Lucas Paqueta was cleared of all charges after maintaining his innocence. Pell and his associates will hope to avoid convictions by pleading not guilty in court next month.
