Now an umpire has been punished for dressing as Osama Bin Laden at a private end-of-season event. Too right.
In response, the AFL has announced that it will produce a list of characters that AFL players and officials will be allowed to dress up as and a list of approved costume suppliers. There are no plans yet to proscribe what players say, but the AFL does offer a service whereby you can get pre-approval for what you intend to say at private end-of-year functions. An AFL spokesman said they were having "a close look" at post-goal celebrations, as they were worried that some opposition fans were offended by James Sicily, and not just when his team scored. Speaking of "scored", AFL commentators have been advised to avoid the word because of unfortunate sexual connotations.
The AFL did come out and say that two things they did not find offensive were businesses that targetted gambling addicts and laundered the proceeds of crime, and fossil fuel exporters who lobbied to expand their operations. "Obviously, we are very sorry about the floods in Spain", said the AFL, "but it's a long bow to tie burning fossil fuels to increased flooding around the world. We think it is more likely caused by some residents in Spain performing tasteless skits and therefore bringing down the wrath of God".
www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-04/afl-umpir...n-at-event/104558978 