A former AFL umpire, his brother and two others have been placed on bail after a magistrate said their alleged $300,000 Brownlow Medal betting fraud charges were “serious”.
Michael Pell, who resigned from AFL umpiring in 2022, was charged in late-August after a protracted police investigation into the football awards in 2021 and 2022.
His brother, Donovan Pell, was also charged, as were William Forde and Mitch Lucas.
All four men faced Melbourne Magistrates Court in person on Thursday, charged on summons with 102 offences between them.
The charges relate to about $300,000 in fraudulent betting, the court was told, and one of the men is facing 53 offences.
Many of the co-accused and witnesses in the case are family members or co-workers, the prosecutor told the court.
Magistrate Brett Sonnet said the accused men all needed to be placed on bail as the charges were “serious”.
He said the matter could not proceed to the higher County Court without bail conditions.
“These are serious charges, 52 charges, it’s not appropriate for someone to only be charged on summons,” he said.
The four accused were placed on bail with conditions to reside at their home address and that they cannot leave Australia.
They will return to the court on October 22 for committal mentions.
Donovan is captain-coach of Westmeadows Cricket Club, where Michael also plays.
Police initially arrested the men in late 2022 over alleged suspicious betting connected to the Brownlow Medal awards.
It will be alleged the fraud related to leaking voting outcomes on some AFL matches and subsequent betting, in 2021 and 2022.
Umpires award Brownlow votes on a 3-2-1 basis after each game, with tight security around the details until the AFL chief executive reads them out on presentation night.
Port Adelaide’s Ollie Wines won the 2021 award, with Carlton captain Patrick Cripps claiming the Brownlow the next year.
Umpires and other AFL personnel are not allowed to gamble on the game.
The AFL ruled out changes to the voting process after the scandal but Victoria’s gambling watchdog unveiled greater safeguards in 2023, including spot audits on AFL employees and greater surveillance of umpires.
Payouts were also limited to $250 on all Brownlow round bets.
