When Williams finished one vote behind winner Gavin Wanganeen for the 1993 Brownlow Medal, it was noted that Williams had received no votes in Carlton's nine goal victory against in Round 10 at Princes Park – a match in which Williams accumulated 44 disposals, kicked a goal and was generally thought to have been the most dominant player on the ground. The votes in that game attracted some media attention at the time, and Williams' poor relationship with umpires was often considered to have been a factor in his failure to poll votes. In 2006, one of the umpires in that match, Murray Bird, alleged this to be true, stating that he had wanted to award votes to Williams, but that his more senior colleague on the day, John Russo, had overruled him on the basis of Williams' negative attitude towards him. Russo denied the allegations. Williams briefly considered a legal challenge for the 1993 Brownlow Medal, but did not proceed.