Sporting world divided as Netball Australia admits umpiring blunder with ‘incredibly dangerous outcome’
Netball Australia have admitted a refereeing error in Saturday’s Super Netball Victorian Derby between the Vixens and the Magpies.
Since the game, controversy has erupted in which the Vixens mistakenly received back-to-back middle passes instead of the required substitution system.
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The Magpies were on course to victory after the Vixens were seven down with five minutes to go, but Vixen Mwai Kumwenda pulled off a match-winning two-point super shot to secure the controversial 62-61 win.
Collingwood Magpie’s netball coach Nicole Richardson criticized the situation at the time, calling it an “absolute fiasco”.
Netball Australia has now released a statement acknowledging the error.
“Netball Australia have reviewed the circumstances that led to an error in the fourth quarter of the second round match between Collingwood Magpies and Melbourne Vixens where Vixens received two consecutive middle passes,” it said.
“The review found an error in the award of the second center pass to the Vixens by the on-court umpires and reserve umpire.
“Under World Netball Rules of Netball, any notification of errors and corrections must be made before the middle pass has been executed.
“Due to the speed at which the subsequent middle pass was executed, no warnings were given to the on-pitch referees through various mechanisms including the reserve referee, the scoreboard and the referee alert unit before the middle pass was executed.
“The review also found there was confusion when the Magpies requested a second tactical time-out late in the fourth quarter, resulting in players returning to their positions and play continuing.
“Under the SSN Rules of the Game, teams can request two 90-second timeouts per half. The Magpies had a second time-out available when it was requested.
“Under the World Netball Rules of Netball and the SSN Rules of the Game, there is no way to challenge an umpire’s decision within a game or the final result.
“The result of the Round 2 game between the Magpies and the Vixens is settled.”
Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan said she was not shying away from the incident.
“Human error is a trait of all sports and while that is the case, we apologize to the Magpies and recognize the need to identify and apply mechanisms to better support our umpires, officials and teams,” said Ryan.
Fan reactions were mixed, with some Twitter users defending the league’s responsibility for the mistake and others frustrated by the admission.
“Human error is part of sport. Players were not immune in-game. Referees are not immune. Neither are coaches nor bank officials. There are too many hypotheses about what could have happened if the right centers had taken place to change the outcome,” one fan wrote.
“The only problem I see with everyone saying they wouldn’t allow the wrong CP goal (middle pass) is what if Pies turned the ball over and scored? Would it still be expected that it would not be allowed? The league needs to set a precedent here,” wrote another.
Others were less understanding, with one fan writing: “Absolutely shocking. I don’t endorse any of the teams involved and this result is downright embarrassing. And this will 100 percent change the course of the 2023 season for these two teams. One for the better, one for the worse. This is an incredibly dangerous result.”
Another claimed, “The whole ‘oh well you weren’t quick enough to let people know’ is ridiculous.”
Both issues will be presented at the next SSN Rules Gaming Committee meeting in May.