AFL Chief Calls For End To "Ugly" Booing Of Adam Goodes

The AFL is done with crowds abusing Sydney Swans legend and former Australian of the Year Adam Goodes.

In Sydney’s recent skirmish with West Coast, an Eagles fan was booted from the stadium after allegedly telling Goodes to “get back to the zoo.”

It is – astoundingly and depressingly – only the latest racially-motivated slur lobbed at the Swans vet.

Ever since Goodes performed a war cry for Carlton’s crowd during the Indigenous Round back in May, he has been followed by a barrage of boos.

AFL chief Gillon McLachlan has officially asked fans to end the “ugly” booing of Goodes, saying that “it’s obviously hurting Adam, but it’s [also] hurting a lot of people in our industry.”

McLachlan also defended Sydney player Lewis Jetta, who replicated Goodes' war dance after scoring a goal, seemingly in response to the attacks on his teammate.

"If you compare it to say a finger salute to the crowd, everyone in our society knows that that means," he said.

"I think you have to look at the war dance in the context of what it is and was. It is a dance created by a group of under-16 indigenous players.

"They modelled it a bit on the haka. It is something they can do to celebrate their culture and it was demonstrated by Adam in Indigenous Round, a round where we give our indigenous players a platform to celebrate their indigenousness.”

The ejected Eagles fan told The West Australian that his comment was not meant to be racist, and that the resulting furor is simply “political correctness gone mad,” not realising that people who usually complain about “political correctness gone mad” are constantly saying terrible things that upset everyone.

Come on, footy fans, end the booing of players and go back to booing the umps.