Anyone watching Fox Sports FC the other night was treated to an uncomfortable and heated on-air discussion. Harry Kewell phoned in from Istanbul to defend himself against a column written by Robbie Slater.
While this segment made for some squirmy viewing, as Kewell hit back at Slater and got quite agitated, it was also compelling viewing. Controversy for controversy’s sake is not a good thing, but this was two big-name Aussie football figures going at it for a reason. Each defending their position and each entitled to their opinion.
This is the kind of thing football actually needs in Australia. It needs people to debate the issues, to debate football in a way that encourages engagement and passion. It happens in every other major sport – league, union, AFL and cricket – and we need more of it. Sometimes people disagree, but that’s part of life.
Good on Kewell for defending himself and good on Fox Sports for allowing him the chance.
Judging by the media coverage this segment has generated, this was a great move by Fox Sports. It has got football on the front pages and in the TV news bulletins.
As a former Socceroo and now a TV pundit, Slater is allowed his opinion.
He is more qualified than most to have his say. But just as he can stand by his views, harsh they may be, Kewell is certainly allowed to defend himself on-air. An enigmatic figure who always seems to generate equal amounts of love and criticism from both Australian fans and media, a ‘circus’ often follows Kewell around. But to say he brings this on himself is unfair.
By all reports Kewell is a quiet, shy figure who usually prefers to remain in the background. And there is no problem with that. It is up to the coach, in this case it was Pim Veerbek, to control the circus and he failed to do in South Africa.
The media has also played its part in adding some fuel to the fire.
The fact is that most of the time when Kewell has turned up for Australia, when fit, he has delivered. He delivered crucial goals for the Socceroos way back in 1997 against Iran.
He led the line against Uruguay in numerous World Cup qualifiers and scored against England in 2003. He also scored important goals against Croatia in the World Cup in 2006 and in qualification games leading up to the 2010 World Cup. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest Socceroos ever.
Despite the club versus country issues he has faced at Leeds and Liverpool, Kewell has been a loyal servant to Australia and deserves respect. But in saying that, he is getting older and prone to injury.
The next World Cup is four years away and the Socceroo team is rightly in transition. A discussion on whether he should continue in the national team is valid, and deserves to be heard. But as Kewell stated last night, he will continue to play for Australia if picked and he follows the manager’s orders.
Which is fair enough.
We rarely have heated public discussions on football in this country. The last I can remember was Craig Foster’s on-air stoush on SBS with Ange Postecoglu on Australia’s youth teams a few years back. You can watch it here.
I’m not advocating an all-in where individuals just rip into others for the sake of it. But if someone believes passionately in something and have an opinion, despite it might be deemed as being controversial by some, they should air it.
Branko Culina is one figure who does that, and thank god for that. Football will be poorer without the characters and without people willing to have a say and stand up for what they believe in.
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