He is getting a raw deal - but he has to stop carrying on the way he does - he is doing himself and his team no favours at all. I think DP should come down hard on him (if he hasn't already!).

Exactly

I love Fev coz he's just like all us tragics in the outer.... HE WEARS HIS HEART ON HIS SLEEVE!!!
He chases opposition players down like we would if we could (except we're too fat or unskilled and deserve to be watching from the stands)
He's obviously an emotional guy which is why he often says silly things on that crap Footy Show instead of keeping his cards close to his chest like all those worms from other clubs.
AND HE DEFINITELY GETS A RAW DEAL FROM THE MAGGOTS coz they're too busy trying to be superstars themselves. They oughta be in the stands with the rest of us instead of paying frees to their "bum-chums" like Lloyd or some other goodie-goodie. They pay frees based on reputations rather than interpretations which is the ULTIMATE IN UN-PROFESSIONALISM.
Go Blues, Go Fev, Go the Tragics...

QFT

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Fev is the boy who crys wolf.
He asks the question nearly everytime he feels contact from his opponent and a couple times he has duped the umpires in calling a soft one - umpires never forget that. Until Fev ignores the contact he recieves and plays for the ball only, then as much as I hate to say it, he will only recieve a free if the umps see blood coming from him.

Long story short - Only Fev has the power to change the deal he is getting from the umps.

Murph may get more frees that anyone else (other than Kerr) but he gets the most amount of treatment - allot of it outside the rules of the game, and untill the umps pay every free they see, his opponents will still try to put him into the turf.

steve_C7 wrote



I know where you're coming from, but I don't believe that some sort of action/ escalation from CFC wouldn't go astray to help the situation; at least to difuse the problem or at the very least hold to account for the reasons why this is happening to Fev. (ie to confront them with the wickedness of their ways). Otherwise...imo...it's business as usual for the umps...it wont go away.

Blind Freddy can see the raw deal Fev is receiving from the umpires week in week out.

Commentators pick up frees missed to Fev week in week out, but that's not helping, because it needs to be coupled with action/ response from CFC.

What we're talking about here is the unfair treatment Fev is receiving from umpires, in fact any player that is subjected to any umpiring bias is a point to be questioned regarding umpires' "professionalism", and the damage they do to the game.

AFL umpires are professionals, and should act the part, and set a good example to the general paying public, and aspiring umpires. Umpires are adding to the confusion of the game. The issues of interpretation of the new rules are not exclusively a rule change issue, but also an issue of umpires applying them correctly , but most importantly "fairly".

If we shut up and say nothing, there is no guarantee the problem will go away. If we, the supporters, and the club, demonstrate our right to diasapprove of the wrong, imo, there is more chance of fair play becoming the norm from umpires in the future.

This is a grievance that must be sorted out, one way or another. Yeah, Fev also has a role to play, but we also have our role to play to put an end to this rubbish being served by umpires.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

I agree with what you're saying, but Fev needs to start playing the ball wholely and solely before we go see the Geesh. If he doesn't do that then the Geesh will just point out that the umpires will protect ball players first and that Fev should make that his first priority rather than playing for frees.
I don't see why we should go and question the umps professionalism or bias when the player in question in playing in a unprofessional manner. It's a bit of the pot calling the kettle black sorta thing. If we were to make that discussion about Marc Murphy then I would say go for it because he needs more protection than he is receiveing

Agreed Steve.

It's very tempting to use the old GF speech as your mantra, "DO SOMETHING!".

But sometimes doing nothing, at least in public, can be better.

First, if the club publicly attacks the umpires, that may lead to the team overall wearing the consequences. Better to isolate the problem with Fev than risk it spreading.

Secondly, painting the umpires into a corner means that there may be no change in their decisions involving Fev even if he improves his on-field demeanour.

Thirdly, slamming the umpires publicly may encourage Fev to continue his complaints to the umpires onfield so that the problem is highlighted.

As Steve says, if Fev changes his approach and plays the ball hard and wears bad decisions, poor decisions will stick out less defensibly. Complaints to Gieschen will have greater potency.

But the other thing is that Fev will play better as well if he does this. His concentration will be on doing the best thing by the team rather than continuing a war with the umpires.

It's fine for us to debate this - no reason why we shouldn't. But surely the club is in a far better position to understand the politics and know what's best for the club? It's fine for us to beat our hairy chests in a manly way, but we don't have to wear the consequences if our Ramboesque plans come unstuck.

I'm not sure that Roos has been able to make much difference in the way the umpires treat Barry Hall. And I'm not even sure Roos thinks that his jabs at the umpires will have any positive effect.

steve c_7 wrote



Fev should always have his prime focus on the game (and never deviate). This is where he brings himself undone within our Carlton family.

I don't believe that he is playing for frees when he is complaining, because I can see the frees being (obviously) there, but umpires are putting the whistle away when Fev is involved. That's my beef.

Now Murphy is another matter, but related.

Not only was Murphy not mentioned in Geishen's list of ball plays requiring umpire protection, despite being a ball focussed machine, he too is being unfairly disregarded in terms of genuine protection that should be offered for ALL players; dirty or not. A free is a free, and if the infringement had an influence on the play or the player's ability to compete fairly, then the whistle should be blown, without hesitation, thoughts and bias appraisals coming into the play. I believe the umpires are making life more difficult for themselves by not calling it as they see it. Simple.

Call the correct decisions, to the best of their ability, without bias, and the footy public wouldn't be having these sort of discussions.

It's simple for the umpires, and simple to the public: A free is a free and should be paid if it has affected ones ability to compete fairly for the ball or the play. That simple.

You see, this is not just about Fev, it's about footy, and how it should be governed, on and off the field.

I will go further than that and suggest that when considering the evidence (missed frees) it looks to me that there is an agenda/ instruction for umpires to dismiss frees earned by Fev. It's happening all too often to Fev to be coincidence, let alone right before the unpires eyes (just metres away).

As for suggesting



All I can say to that is that 2 wrongs don't make a right, and all players and people in Australia, whether it's sport, politics, business or whatever should be treated equally.

If umpires pay the correct decisions, and players start faking for frees, followed by complaining on the field for not receiving a free that wasn't there in the first place, the media will always expose them for cheats, whingers, sooks, weaklings...and that will be the players' undoing; that's another issue...but an issue that sorts itself out as it is played out in the vast media machine covering this (once) great game; today the game and gamesmanship (from the Commission's headquarters) is certainly becoming a circus with too many flaws, inconsistencies surfacing week in week out...that's something Fev can't sort out, and we (the footy public) want eradicated asap.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue