Aussie Rules crackdown

[dave nz]

Betting leaks prompt AFL to consider banning phones from changing rooms
By Mark Stevens
February 24, 2009


A ban on mobile phones in dressing rooms is on the agenda as the AFL moves to protect the integrity of the game.

In the strongest sign yet that the league is deadly serious about pre-game leaks, players and officials may be asked to either turn their phones off or check them in at the door.

It would remove any temptation for players and staff to alert friends, or even Bookmaker.com/?cmpid=4437" target="_blank">Bookmakers, of any late team changes or injuries that could affect pre-match betting markets.

AFL integrity services manager Brett Clothier has met club officials and is forming a list of recommendations.

Clothier has discussed the possibility of a mobile phone ban, which could also extend to the coaches' boxes.

The move would mirror a crackdown by the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit.

Players and officials at international matches are not allowed to carry phones into the players' rooms on match days - not only to avert leaks, but to negate the perception that matches can be fixed in some way.

The AFL has grown increasingly concerned about betting patterns in the lead-up to games, with millions wagered each weekend in the 90 minutes before the first bounce.

It is believed the AFL Commission will next month discuss a list of "integrity rule" provisions that could be implemented for the home-and-away season.

The AFL has declined to comment on the progress of the integrity policy, saying the commission has the ultimate sign-off.

But the phone ban is expected to be discussed by the commission along with the 90-minute team-sheet rule revealed in the Herald Sun a fortnight ago.

Cricket Australia's public affairs manager Peter Young says a no-phone zone was a fact of life in international matches.

"When I go into the players' room I leave it (my phone) with a security attendant," Young said.

"The requirement is, you figure out how to make sure you don't have one (a phone) in there."

Young said the policy was used to attack integrity issues on two fronts.

"It guards against any information going out that illegal bookies may be able to use, but it is also to guard against any perception that there might be the ability for the outcome of matches to be influenced."

During this year's NAB Cup, the AFL has trialled forcing teams to have their final team sheets in 90 minutes before the bounce - an extension from the usual 45 minutes.

Anderson said recently the 90-minute rule was not just to protect betting agencies by offering earlier transparency.

"This is about protecting the integrity of the game," Anderson said.

Clothier, the first senior manager of Racing Victoria's integrity services department, was last year appointed to the AFL to oversee issues surrounding gambling.

His brief is to develop improved processes to manage information received from bookmaking and betting agencies and review and manage all integrity services at the AFL.