AFL calls on clubs to show respect to umps

The AFL has revealed community leagues are short of thousands of umpires and has called on its league clubs to set a better example.

Toby Greene's six-game ban on appeal for the GWS star's run-in with field umpire Matt Stevic was a low point in player-umpire relations last season.

But the AFL says it was hardly the only example of a lack of respect towards umpires.

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"As part of the review of the 2021 season, we identified a number of instances where the AFL community fell short of those standards when it came to demonstrating respect towards umpires," league executive general manager Andrew Dillon said in a statement.

"The AFL and its clubs have a unique leadership role in the community, and with that role comes responsibility. Disrespect towards umpires is an issue at all levels of football and has no place.

"We are 6,000 umpires short at the community football level and it is incumbent on us to set the right example at the elite level so we can encourage and retain umpires across the country to best support the rapidly growing player participation base."

The league has sent a memo to club senior coaches and football department bosses, calling on their teams to behave better towards umpires.

"While the AFL appreciates the enormous sacrifices clubs have made and continue to make over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the league reminds everyone within the game that they have a responsibility to demonstrate respect and sportsmanship towards each other at all times," Dillon said.

In a media release, the league also laid the rules around free kicks for players who abuse umpires, sanctions for public comments about umpires and the penalties for approaching umpires during