Adelaide businessman Daniel Milky approached the AFL, offering to pay $10,000 for three 30 second ads on the digital advertising boards around the Adelaide Oval during three Crows home games.
He said customers in his inner suburban cafe gave him the idea.
"Customers started bringing it to me, to my attention," he said.
"You know, saying, 'Have you seen the images of the kids in Gaza? Do you know what's going on? How can we help? Where do we donate?''
Mr Milky said he had no interest in football, or politics, but thought an Adelaide Crows game would give his advertising the exposure he wanted.
"I thought, well, what better means to get it out to the community than at the AFL games?"
He said the Crows were receptive to the idea, but after negotiations with the Crows about the precise wording of the copy, the AFL rejected his money, and his ads.
The AFL said it considered the advertisements political in nature, and they were refused on that basis.
The decision has disappointed World Vision, who said the AFL should take the lead from the Australian government, which has donated five million dollars in humanitarian aid to Gaza.
"This isn't about picking sides," World Vision CEO Tim Costello said. "This is about picking peace over violence."
While Mr Milky said his ads were intended to be purely humanitarian, one politician wanted to help him.
Independent South Australian senator Nick Xenophon spoke up about the AFL's decision.
He said the AFL organisation has supported humanitarian causes in the past.
"If a child has been injured as a result of any catastrophe, whether it's a tsunami, an earthquake or a bomb attack, surely they all deserve our compassion and help," he said.
Mr Milky said he never intended the message to be political.
"(It was) purely objective, to raise funds for children in need," he said. "So they've politicised the issue, and they've changed the argument now."
Mr Milky said if the AFL does not change its mind, he'd be prepared to fund a series of billboards calling for donations.
He said funds raised would be sent to both Israeli and Gazan children in need, and he invited the Israeli community to help fund those ads with him.
Share
