Australian Rules Football: Umpires, Not Referees

Australian rules football uses umpires, not referees. A match has:

• 3 Field Umpires – control play, award free kicks, enforce rules, manage game flow.
• 2–4 Boundary Umpires – judge out-of-bounds, throw-in restarts, monitor interchange.
• 2 Goal Umpires – signal scores (6-point goal / 1-point behind), keep official scorecard.
• Emergency Umpires – substitutes for injury/replacement.

Total: 7–9 umpires per AFL game. The three field umpires share decision-making equally (no "head ref"). Video review (ARC) assists on scoring and high-contact decisions.