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Power supporter sorry for racist banana attack

22nd August, 2016
22

The Port Adelaide supporter who threw a banana at indigenous Adelaide star Eddie Betts has apologised for the racially motivated incident.

The woman, who’s in her mid-20s, was banned indefinitely from AFL games after targeting Betts in the dying stages of Saturday night’s Showdown at Adelaide Oval.

Port Adelaide issued a statement on behalf of the woman late on Monday in which she said she would accept her punishment.

“I apologise to Eddie Betts and the Adelaide Football Club as it was never my intention to cause harm or distress to your players or supporters,” she wrote.

“Going to a game of football is meant to be a fun and enjoyable event for all and I apologise for ruining it for so many.

“I regret my momentary lapse of judgment and I did not attend the game with the predetermined attitude of bringing the game into disrepute or to offend anyone.

“Unfortunately, the emotions of the game got the better of me and I hope you all accept my apology.”

Port have offered the woman cultural awareness training, which she accepted.

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The apology came as Betts broke his silence on the attack, saying racism towards indigenous players remained an issue for the AFL.

“It’s sad that racism still exists in our game,” Betts told the Crows website.

“Hopefully people can learn from it.

“All we have to do is just educate.”

Betts highlighted his role in the AFL’s “Racism. It Stops With Me” campaign, which targets racial vilification.

“Hopefully people can talk to their kids about why the campaign is important and to educate family members on racism,” Betts said.

“It’s not too late to learn.”

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The forward, who has booted 65 goals this season, praised Port Adelaide’s response to the incident and said he hoped to move on from it.

“I’ve obviously got to find a way to put it aside because we’ve got finals coming up (and) we’ve got West Coast on Friday night,” Betts said.

“That’s probably one of the main things that I need to focus on now, it’s going forward, putting it aside and focusing on footy.”

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