The AFL has endorsed a field umpire being on the payroll of a major betting company as a horse racing analyst.
AFL field umpire Nick Foot will feature as an analyst on Get On, a Sportsbet-affiliated racing show that appears on Racing.com and Sportsbet platforms.
Foot officiated his first AFL grand final last year after umpiring 238 games, including eight finals.
Foot’s role has been ticked off by the AFL. The league maintained that if Foot’s work had “anything to do with football in any capacity, it wouldn’t have been approved”.
Anti-gambling crusader Reverend Tim Costello said Foot’s role with Sportsbet, also a partner of the AFL, was highly inappropriate.
“Betting and racing have always been bedfellows,” Costello said.
“There wouldn’t be a horse race without betting. I’ve never been troubled by that because kids don’t watch horse racing, (and therefore) don’t get introduced to gambling until they’re adults.
“[But] the AFL now looks more like a betting company with a side subsidiary called football.
“Because kids know the odds, talk in terms of the odds. They have been literally mainstreamed into a gambling culture.
AFL umpire Nick Foot.Credit: AFL Photos / Getty Images
“An AFL umpire employed by a gambling company is just a further example of this ‘capture’.”
A spokesperson for the AFL confirmed that the umpire had sought approval for the role. The league said Foot has previously also worked with RSN – a racing and sport radio network.
Foot confirmed his role with Sportsbet in a social media post last week.
“Excited to start work with @sportsbetcom.au in 2025,” the umpire posted on X on 13 February.
“I’ll be feature weekly on the SB app and getting involved more with the @Geton78 team.
“If ya [sic] like Friday Foot Patrols, 1×3 plays and a couple of cheeky place multis, then give his boofhead a follow via The Feed.”
The AFL spokesperson said: “This year he [Foot] is a presenter on the racing show Get On.
“The major partner of that show is Sportsbet, which is also a partner of ours.
“He sought approval to be able to do some content that basically revolves around this role with Get On, which talks to some racing stuff, which we have approved.
“He has nothing to do with football, he is not working it at or around (football) with Sportsbet. He is doing content on racing, and nothing to do with football.
“If it [his role] had anything to do with football in any capacity, it wouldn’t have been approved.”
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