Melbourne’s 3AW radio presenter has apologised after he was accused of making a derogatory comment about an AFL player.
Friday night brought a disappointing loss for the Richmond football club, but the real insult for midfielder Bachar Houli apparently happened behind the scenes. 3AW presenter, John Burns, has been accused of vilifying Houli, who's a devout Muslim.
Richmond Chief Executive Brendon Gale says the incident is disappointing.
"Sadly I'm not surprised I think some parts of the community are ignorant around these sort of matters, but some people should know better as well," he said.
It's alleged a Richmond staff member overheard Burns calling Houli a terrorist. Nail Aykan, of the Islamic Council of Victoria, says it's a stinging insult, considering how hard Houli has worked to promote cultural understanding of the Muslim community.
"Bachar has been a great role model and a strong advocate for social cohesion in the state in addition to being a great AFL multicultural ambassador so it makes you wonder."
Drafted in 2006, Bachar Houli became the first Muslim to play AFL at a national level. Now he's a multicultural ambassador and runs an AFL academy for Islamic teens wanting to get involved with the sport. Brendon Gale says his impact as a player and a mentor has been significant.
"He's a very important footballer and a very good football, and a fine young man. This is not the first time. It's disappointing, you'd think we would've all taken stock," he said.
John Burns has issued an apology for the incident, saying: "I have no recollection of making an offensive remark" and "the idea something I've said has offended someone is mortifying to me".
It comes two weeks after a Richmond supporter was investigated for racial abuse of the Bulldogs' Lin Jong. Richmond captain Trent Cotchin says the AFL community needs to pull together in the face of such incidents.
"There's no place for it in our game and as a collective we need to make a stronger stand on it."
AFL Football Operations Manager Mark Evans says the very fact such incidents are reported is proof the public finds them unacceptable.
"We've had a number of issues across the year and last year as well and what you see - whether it's a racist comment, a homophobic comment - is a reaction from fans around the person."
The Richmond football club says it accepts Burn's apology, and now considers the matter closed.
