Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
A former AFL umpire’s schoolmate has told a court he feels ashamed after using confidential information to bet on the round by round outcome of the Brownlow Medal count.
William Forde, 36, pleaded guilty to six charges in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday relating to corrupt betting on the 2021 and 2022 Brownlow Medal.
The move came after prosecutors withdrew 47 charges and the court granted an application to hear the case summarily.
Forde was charged by Victoria Police’s sporting integrity unit in August last year alongside former umpire Michael Pell and two other men.
The court was told Mr Pell and the two others are contesting similar charges, with a committal hearing listed next month to decide if the case should be sent for trial.
Outlining the Crown’s case against Forde, prosecutor Greg Buchhorn told the court he was a longtime friend of Mr Pell’s, having grown up and attended school in Melbourne together.
In 2021, Mr Buchhorn said Forde enlisted four friends to place wagers on which players would receive three Brownlow votes in games where Mr Pell had been officiating.
He told the court efforts were made to conceal the syndicate’s activities, including using encrypted messaging services, sending handwritten notes as images, dummy bets on other rounds, and, on one occasion, sending a pillowcase with thousands of dollars to a regional town.
After the 2021 Brownlow points and winner was announced, Mr Buchhorn said about $40,750 had been netted in profit, allegedly split between Forde, his associates and Mr Pell.
The following year Mr Buchhorn said Mr Pell had been promoted to a regular field umpire, and the syndicate placed new bets ahead of the Brownlow count.
The prosecutor said following the final round of the season, Forde allegedly met Mr Pell and his infant son at a Glenroy park on August 21, where he was handed $27,000 to place bets and colour-coded notes indicating which players had received Brownlow votes for specific games.
Mr Buchhorn said there were about $60,345 in profits from bets Forde had placed or instructed others to place.
Forde, the court was told, was arrested by police in November 2022 after suspicious betting was flagged during the 2022 Brownlow count.
Mr Buchhorn said Forde had been frank with investigators about his role and explained he’d justified it to himself because betting agencies had “taken so much money from him in the past”.
Forde’s lawyer Heather Anderson told the court she accepted the description of the offending as a “fair summary” before explaining he felt “shame and remorse” for his actions.
She told the court her client’s role was “opportunistic”, accepting confidential information from a close mate and using that to profit.
Ms Anderson said Forde had this hanging over his head for three and a half years after his police interview and had suffered humiliation as a result of media reporting.
She argued a financial penalty or a community-based order with unpaid community work would be an appropriate penalty – a move not opposed by the prosecution.
Forde will return to court on June 3 where magistrate Siobhan Whittle will hand down his sentence.
