The North Melbourne coach says the men in charge are in a no-win situation regardless of what they do.
“We operate in probably the hardest game to adjudicate in the world,” Scott said.
“I don’t think they can win, the umpires.”
Melbourne coach Paul Roos recently criticised the apparent lack of free kicks being paid in 2014.
Indeed the data backs the claim up, with the current average of 33.8 free kicks per game down about three per game from last season. But Scott believes the balance is right.
“I respect Roosy’s right to an opinion but my personal opinion is that I get really frustrated when the umpires guess.
“I would much prefer for the umpires to miss a couple than to guess and get one wrong. Paying (only) the obvious free kicks makes a lot of sense to me.
“One thing I know for sure is the umpires are in the worst possible position, because they’ll never get to a stage where everyone’s happy.”
The topic of holding the ball and prior opportunity was also raised, with Scott again having sympathy for the position the umpires find themselves in.
“Some of the confusion at the moment is around some of the prior opportunity stuff and holding the ball. They’ve got a really tough job,” he added.
“The genuine attempt seems to be the hard bit. I joked with Mark Evans (Football Operations Manager) that I’d like to throw the ball to a couple of umpires, get Drew Petrie to tackle them and see if they can make a genuine attempt.
“When you’ve got three big guys on top of you with your arms pinned, other than trying to headbutt the ball out of your own hands, I’m not sure how you can make a genuine attempt.”
Although the topic will undoubtedly continue to rage on, Scott is ultimately unfussed by the debate.
“That’s a challenge for the umpires to work on the balance.
“I don’t have a concern with the umpires. They make some mistakes for you, they make some mistakes against you. It all evens up in the end.”
