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In words no one could have predicted using two weeks ago, in the end it was a real estate agent who ostensibly brought down the AFL’s case against Zak Butters. The Port Adelaide player was cleared of umpire abuse on Monday night, after the AFL appeals board overturned the tribunal’s verdict based on an “error of law” through a “miscarriage of justice”. It brought to a close a farcical chapter that started with missing evidence and ended with barking dogs. And between those unusual bookends, Butters’ case took several other unexpectedly comical turns.

Umpire abuse is a serious issue – one that permeates every level of sport from grassroots to the elite – and cracking down on it at the top level sends an important message. Yet when field umpire Nick Foot claimed Butters had asked, “How much are they paying you?” after he awarded St Kilda a free kick, it wasn’t those words that drew shock and condemnation. It was instead the reminder that an AFL umpire is allowed to work for a sports betting agency.

Since January 2025, Foot has been a broadcast host and racing analyst with Sportsbet, which is also the AFL’s exclusive gambling partner. Sportsbet and the AFL have an intimate relationship. The betting company’s blue and yellow branding flickers intrusively around stadiums, its ads smother free-to-air TV match coverage, and its odds have to be manually turned off if you don’t want to be constantly bombarded by them in the AFL app. With increasing public disdain for the pervasiveness of gambling in sport, how can the AFL allow an umpire to also work in sport betting?

Against St Kilda in round five, Butters was put on report by Foot immediately after the alleged incident, and straight after the game denied he made the comment. But in what would normally be a cut and dried case of umpire abuse, things instantly took a turn for the absurd when it was revealed there was no audio of Butters’ comment, despite Foot’s microphone clearly picking up audio either side of it. Last week’s tribunal hearing thus inevitably devolved into a case of “he said, he said”, with Butters vehemently denying he said the words and Foot similarly adamant he did. The tribunal ultimately sided with the umpire, and Butters was fined $1,500 – amounting to a slap on the wrist for what should be seen as a serious offence.

Now take a deep breath and forget all of that, because the issue at the heart of Port’s appeal against the tribunal ruling was not related to an umpire’s part-time gig in sports betting, but someone else’s occupation. There was barely a whisper about the on-field incident during Monday’s appeal. Instead, the conduct of a former Essendon player turned real estate agent was in the spotlight.

Part way through last week’s tribunal, panel member Jason Johnson briefly disconnected from the online hearing to switch from his desktop computer to his phone. A small interruption in itself, but what he did next “was inexplicable and amounted to a miscarriage of justice”, Port argued in their appeal. Johnson got in his car and drove to an open house inspection.

Driving can sometimes feel like an automatic process, especially if it is on a well-known route. But it still requires a significant amount of attention meaning that any other tasks attempted at the same time can’t be given full attention. Port emphasised this point, inferring Johnson was distracted. “The board cannot be satisfied that Mr Johnson in those circumstances was paying proper attention to his duties and adjudicating appropriately.”

It took just 14 minutes for the appeals board to agree with Port and throw out the charge. The board concluded that Johnson’s conduct “constituted a miscarriage of justice” and was “clearly an error of law that had a material impact on the decision of the tribunal”. And so, presumably in a first for the AFL, its tribunal process was brought down by a real estate agent.

The interruptions were not limited to the initial tribunal hearing, though. It was almost fitting that in the midst of ravaging Johnson for his conduct, Port’s legal counsel, Paul Ehrlich KC’s appeal arguments were interrupted by his barking dogs. The lawyer had to mute himself to tell them to shut up. Luckily for Port, Ehrlich’s distraction did not affect the appeal outcome.

The saga, while laughable in nature, ends with the AFL being forced to apologise to Butters, Foot and Port Adelaide, and confront two serious problems: questions about the tribunal process and whether an umpire should be working for a betting company. The fact a tribunal decision has been thrown out due to a panel member’s divided attention suggests the system is not working as intended, Port argued.

The Butters case has brought renewed scrutiny of Foot’s Sportsbet role, with reports the AFL is reconsidering its appropriateness. There is no suggestion that Foot was or has ever been compromised, but it’s hard to see how an umpire working in sports betting was anything other than an integrity disaster waiting to happen for the AFL. They probably didn’t expect it to unfold like this though.