Afl betting scandal

[superiorcruiser]

What a load of crap by the afl for suspending Heath Shaw.
theres nothing wrong with backing your team or yourself to WIN.
Its when you back them to loose is when its a problem,as you might try and throw a game.
Every horse trainer,owner and associate bets on their own horse and thats acceptable,but not the precious AFL......freakn tossers.
And Maxvell gets fined because his rellys had a bet without him even knowing....fairdinkum whats the world coming to...
any comments?

 

[heata]

Joe, you know I'm a pies man too, but he did have a huge advantage, knowing Maxy would start foward. If we all had this info, we all would have liked Maxwell for first goal at 100 to 1.

Having said that as the fith player caught, I'm not sure how they jump from fines to all previous, to 15 weeks suspension. I would have thought a couple of weeks would get the message across.

 

[superiorcruiser]

even the AFL said it wasnt done to make money...the players would use that as loose change.
do you remember back in the 80s and 90s teams would come out and publickly state..we backed ourselves to win...
all of a sudden you are not allowed to bet $20 on a goal....its all crap
as for the suspension,its the only way to try and stop this juggernaught from winning another flag.....GO PIES

 

[Nick_T]

As a masive pies fan, I think the Shaw did deserve to get suspended. 8 weeks (after origaly gettint 15 with 7 suspended), is a bit harsh though. A month on the sidelines would havee gotten the message across. Maxwell a bit unlucky however a fine was appropriate as there needs to be zero tolerance on betting in this great game.

START RANT: That said all this reeks of mass double standards, the AFL is sponsored by online bookies, all clubs have online bookie sponsors , the odds are displayed on the scoreboard after every goal and at the breaks thats without even looking at tv, radio and internet avertising for bookies on AFL or AFL related sites. It is just asking for trouble with so much gambling being present in the game. If the AFL was serious aboiut its anti-gambling stance there would be no betting agancies sponsorship in the game or on TV/radio or at the game. It is not that hard to stop. Just means a bit less money. Oh yes the AFL tries to squaze every cent in can into its pockets so they would never give this revenue stream up. RANT OVER

for the record im not anti gaming, i enjoy the occasional flutter

 

[bullwinkle]

Nick T, you are 100% correct. It's all about the money. If Andrew Demetriou is worth $2m a year, I'm a monkey's uncle.

 

[KraftyPg]

I'm sick of the AFL and their attitude that everything is about them and that they are a higher law in this state/country than even law enforcement, from letting them investigate their own criminal matters before the police to their stupid 3 strikes drug policy the AFL is a joke and only getting worse as the powers that be line their own pockets before considering the good of the game.

However I don't care which teams gets caught or who's star player gets stung these idiots know that they aren't allowed to bet on themselves, they know they aren't allowed to pass information to family or have family act on information they do pass on so if they do then too bad for them they should wear what is put on them and think themselves lucky the AFL protect their own because in the real world it could easily be considered insider trading and punishable by real world law not mamby pamby AFL law.

Although just like the pissy drugs rule where more people are doing it than are actually getting caught there is obviously going to be more players betting and not getting caught which does make it hard to accept for those who idolise and dream about the two that got caught but too bad rules are rules. If the AFL were serious about stamping out this bullshit the punishment wouldn't have been partially suspended, but typical of any judiciary in this country they are week and hand out pissy sentences to make the guilty feel better about themselves.

 

[superiorcruiser]

the AFL have one set of rules for COLLINGWOOD,which is maximum penalty and another set for others.They let off players,officials and time keepers from other clubs but when its the Pies they jump all over them...
They forget that without the Pies there is NO AFL..
and why is it insider trading when its AFL,but its fully acceptable in horse racing?
i think if you have good inside info then good luck to you...look at the government and the contracts they hand out to companies owned by family members....
they are too precious in the afl,and made a mountain out of a mole hill....

 

[KraftyPg]

The AFL treat everyone and any team with contempt, the fact that some people think they treat one team worst than the other is purely a matter of which team you follow.

As for the horse racing comparison it's a bit far fetched. If Bart Cummings knew that a rival trainer was going to scratch the odds on favourite for tomorrows race at the last minute and he went off and placed a bet on his own horse at 100 to 1 odds he too would get in the shit for using knowledge gained wrongly to influence the bets. It's got little to do with how much someone may or may not win and more to do with the effect it has on the betting pool. So to say it's fully acceptable in horse racing is naive.

 

[digbyj]

Surely the basics are that players know they are not allowed to bet and Heath Shaw was stupid. The Pies openly supported the AFLs decision and understood the importance of being made an example of. Eddie said so in the press conference.
Heath Shaw was stupid but Maxwell was just unlucky. Neither of them went in with the wrong intentions but they broke the rules.

 

[Nick_T]

Agree with digbyj, this was just a case of stupidity, or a momentary laspe in judgement by Shaw who was already in he TAB betting on the horses, as for Maxwell, all players will talk with family members about where they are playing the next week. Untill a player/offical starts to bet against his team then betting is only a minor issue. Infact the main reason it is an issue is because the AFL has come under presure from betting agencies who sposor the AFL for millions each year.

 

[KraftyPg]

So the fact that one $10 bet by a player or someone related to a player brought the odds down from 100 to 1 to 25 to 1 aren't a big issue?

This type of bet and betting in any sport by people "in the know" has further reaching issues that just pissing off a few people who did what they have been told not too.

 

[heata]

I dont think anyone condones his actions, and I think even Pies supporters would agree that it was a very stupid thing to do.

The bit that I don't get, is how all players and officials previously caught, have only recieved fines. Suddenly it goes to 14 weeks suspension????? Just seems a bit of a jump to me.

 

[superiorcruiser]

yeah exactly...seems to be if your collingwood you get suspended,anyone else is just a fine...
betcha if it was chris dudd/judd,he would have been let off,just like when he split open pavlich with an elbow to the face and the afl claim there was insufficient force to warrant a suspension...
pavlich needed stiches to close the cut but no suspension for the afl pinup boy......farkn sucks

 

[superiorcruiser]

i tell you this penalty is pissing me off.
as someone wrote today in the paper,a player can get busted 2 times for taking cocane and his name wont even be mentioned let alone a fine & suspension given,but god forbid you place a $10 bet on a goal being kicked...
if my son was playing afl i know i would rather have him placing a bet then doing drugs...
farkn afl need to get their act together...