AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan has commented on the Brownlow betting scandal that swept through the league in November.<\/p>\n
League umpire Michael Pell was one of four men arrested last month linked to suspicious betting activity on the 2022 Brownlow Medal.<\/p>\n
Victoria Police have widened their investigation into Pell, also looking into the 2021 season as well.<\/p>\n
It has been alleged that bets were laid on more than 10 matches the young umpire helmed.<\/p>\n
McLachlan said \u201chuman failures\u201d have let the industry down in this instance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not saying I wasn\u2019t surprised, maybe shocked by what was alleged to have happened. But in the broader sense, I\u2019m incredibly proud of our industry,\u201d McLachlan said last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud of our players, our female and male athletes, I\u2019m proud of our clubs, I\u2019m proud of my team unbelievably.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m accepting of human failures. People make mistakes. [The AFL has] the best systems and process and culture, we do everything we can to avoid that knowing that in life, these things happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
McLachlan ruled out changes to the way the Brownlow is run.<\/p>\n
“The Brownlow voting will stay exactly the same,” he said. “All the suggestions I’ve heard, it’s not that they’re not worthy, but they wouldn’t have dealt with this issue.<\/p>\n
“In the end, the allegations go to the personal integrity of an individual.<\/p>\n
“At some point, right through every system, someone has to make a decision when they have information that, if they’re compromised, can lead to issues like we’ve allegedly got here.”<\/p>\n
McLachlan will remain in the AFL\u2019s top job until round five of the 2023 season, extending his stay after previously saying 2022 would be his last year.<\/p>\n