The opening game of the AFL indigenous round has left the nation embarrassed following a racial slur made towards the AFL’s most high profile indigenous player.
On a night where Sydney were underdogs, they were lifted by two of their most exciting players who both happen to be indigenous.
The performance of evergreen 33 year old Adam Goodes was best-on-ground while speedster Lewis Jetta burned his opponent with a fabulous goal on the run.
However, the night ended on the most sour of notes when Goodes was running along the boundary line in the dying stages of the game.
Immediately stopping and returning the boundary line, Goodes pointed to a female patron and called security over in regards to a racial slur directed at him.
The incident was caught on Channel 7’s cameras and it took only seconds for security staff to escort the patron out of the ground.
The act quickly gained international attention from various news outlets. Meanwhile, Twitter was bombarded with reactions condemning the act, leaving the Australian community dearly ashamed.
“Something clearly said to Adam Goodes, sitting on the couch speechless and really flat! #bloodydisappointing,” tweeted Jack Riewoldt.
The win was Sydney’s first at the MCG against Collingwood in 13 years but a clearly distressed Goodes left the ground immediately and did not celebrate the win with his teammates on the field.
The patron who made the alleged comments has been revealed to have been a 14 year old female Collingwood supporter.
Immediately after the game, Collingwood President Eddie McGuire entered Sydney’s locker rooms to address the situation.
“I apologised to him on behalf of the Collingwood Football Club and football people in general. We have a zero tolerance at the Collingwood Football Club on this,” he said.
“We are not going to have this rubbish. Some young girl has gone and said something stupid. Bad luck. We are not making excuses people made excuses for too long about this.”
“There is no generation gap for idiots.”
It was a powerful message from McGuire to address the incident on national television immediately after the match.
A great ambassador for the game and legend of Australian Football as a two time Brownlow medallist, Goodes celebrated the 400th goal of his career earlier in the night. When questioned by media after the game, he was clearly uncomfortable discussing the comments and chose not to pursue the matter himself, opting to leave it to the AFL.
Racism within Australia has been a consistent issue over the past months with multiple acts of public vilification going viral. Several incidents filmed in public by bystanders have made international headlines abroad, leaving Australia bruised over the primitive acts.
Last year, Australian Football’s first Sundanese-born footballer, Majak Daw, was subjected to a similar incident in a VFL game. Although the altercation was not caught on camera, Daw immediately had the patron ejected.
The patron was forced to attend a program against racial vilification if he wished to ever attend a game of football again.
A fortnight ago, two men were ejected from Eithad Stadium when Daw was once again the target of racial slurs. On that occasion, a nearby fan reported the actions to security who immediately escorted the two men out.
The AFL indigenous round celebrates past and current indigenous players for their contribution to the game.
It is unfortunate that the image of a finger-pointing Goodes will now be ingrained into Australian history for the actions of a supporter which can only be described as disgraceful.
pAUL
Guest
Ape is not racist my grand kids call me the ape all the time I just laugh.
EricBloom
Roar Rookie
+1
Nomenclature
Guest
Matt_S is well known RL troll who suggests anyone who takes offence should get an apology - this is not the 90s...
Nomenclature
Guest
I assume it was your letter in the Sydney Morning herald saying the same thing - note I didn't use your name...
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
What we in Australia don't want is the type of crowd behaviour that is common amongst soccer followers in the UK and Europe where players are underthreat from spectators. Go to any match there and see the amount of police and security. We don't need that here. Get on top of abuse from people like the 13 year old and set her as an example. As a minor what punishment will her parents face?
Mango Jack
Guest
Oh, I see, so she's the victim after all. Poor little white kid just calls a black player an ape he gets all touchy and bullies her. Your ignorance, bigotry and twisted logic defy words, mate. No further comment necessary.
Franko
Guest
Is this a joke?
Nomenclature
Guest
How did she know she was 13??? Next you will be claiming he is sexist...
Nomenclature
Guest
They proably spoke to her and didn't eject here straight away...
Nomenclature
Guest
5 bucks thanks - Moe...
Nomenclature
Guest
So international soccer has never had racial issues - I remember soccer crowds in the Nineties booing black players from the opposition got the ball which happened until black players were in every team...Don't throw stones unless you are well covered...
Nomenclature
Guest
Yes and she too will be given another chance...
checkside
Guest
After reading some of the crap written above it just highlights how far we have come and how far we need to go. The Indigenous Round was to celebrate the great players and people that are involved in ''our'' great game past and present. A game to be enjoyed by all people. Times have changed for the better and no one - indigenous or not should put up with this rubbish any more. When a spectator screams abuse of this nature over the fence it seems some think of it as a one way conversation. Goodes turned it around, pointed it out and in his own way made it a two way conversation - and won the argument on behalf of all of us who believe that racial villification is not acceptable. Goodes proved again to be a great leader in more ways than one at the press conference of his concern about the young spectator and explaining why he and others feel the shame that we should all have. Also well done Eddie who would also be embarrassed. Time for some to wake up and change. Now can we talk footy?
jc
Guest
Mango jack, if he was all class he would not have pointed her out for the world to see and he would have stayed on the ground. He was more than happy to celebrate in the rooms after the game was he not. From what i heard on radio the girl may have the right to sue the afl and mcg
ciudadmarron
Guest
What I found interesting about this affair, aside from channel 7's need to jump straight on to it when there was clearly a minor involved, was how the fact that Goodes has said it still happens and that he has copped abuse numerous times in the last ten years has been glossed over completely. I also note that at no stage during channel 7'[s coverage of the "event" did they bring up the Daw case from a couple of weeks back. An isolated Collingwood related incident we can all condemn and wash our hands of... nice.
Jaiden Florimo
Roar Rookie
Sounds great Mango Jack, just like a fairy tale. Do you really think its going to be easy for the kid once she goes to school and the kids start giving it to her now that Goodes embarrassed her in front of everyone and the media latched on to her before you could say 'leave the poor kid alone'?
Mango Jack
Guest
Jaiden & JC, are you blokes serious? I certainly hope not. So he cops a horrible slur (and put yourselves in Goodes' shoes for a minute, with a life time of this sort of stuff), and you try to paint HIM as the villain???! What has come out of this is that Goodes is all class. He reported it straight away, then gave the kid a chance to apologise, which she did, then called for everyone to move on. You can't ask for more than that.
Greg_Newy
Guest
If Holger Osceik misses out on getting the Socceroos to the World Cup and says on National TV "We dont have the Aboriginies' Protection Board recruiting for us like the AFL does" it would be met with a huge backlash. But really, whats the difference in the two comments? Neither comments are acceptable - both appauling. But your lack of respect to others and what they deem to be offensive is a concerning issue.
Greg_Newy
Guest
I support the Swans, go to most of their games and spent alot of money to go to melbourne for the GF last year. I dont consider this to be a 'code war' issue and to simply sweep it under the rug with this argument is really weak. People were offended by Sheedys comments, whether you specifically were or not, and it is shown that he has a history of making inappropriate remarks about the multicultualism in Western Sydney. It had strong media coverage, much like the incident with the 13 year old girl, was made an at official AFL event and has evey trademark of a comment worthy of punishment. Yet Nothing. Nice effort on the old "Sheilas" comments. Hey, you have managed 2 of the 3 old steroetypes, "Sheilas" and "Wogs", just a comment about "Poofters" is needed. Come on, you know you want to say it.
Greg_Newy
Guest
Speak of reality checks I believe you may need to reconsider the overstatements of "shows how important this round is", "shows the impact the AFL has in the community". This couldnt be further from the truth is NSW and QLD. What is actually important is recognising all cultural backgrounds, not recognising one then spitting on all the others and saying "ow well, they are not important". Just because you appreciate one background, doesnt excuse the abuse you dish out to others. The important thing is to be appreciative and sensitive to all cultural backgrounds. The AFL is clearly light years behind other codes in this respect, despite being more prominent in promoting equality with Indigenous Australians.