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Australian football league apologizes to indigenous champion after race row

Xinhua, March 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Australian Football League (AFL) has offered a belated apology to the now-retired indigenous star, Adam Goodes, who was repeatedly racially taunted last season.

Goodes, a 372-game great of the Sydney Swans, was the subject of a racism row that threatened to overshadow the AFL season in 2015.

A dual Brownlow Medalist as the "fairest and best" player in the league, Goodes was relentlessly booed by opposition fans last season, which forced him to walk away from the club mid-season as the saga wore on.

The 36-year-old, who was named Australian of the Year in 2014 for his work as a leading indigenous advocate, believed he was targeted by supporters due to the color of his skin. Fans denied that claim, however, explaining that their dislike of Goodes stemmed from his 'diving' - simulating contact to earn free kicks - during matches.

Goodes did not take part in the AFL's grand final farewell parade around the Melbourne Cricket Ground - an honor usually reserved for retiring champions - due to fears of another unsavory response from fans on the game' s biggest day.

Six months after the two-time premiership player' s inglorious exit from the sport, AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said the organization had failed to adequately protect Goodes from the 'boo-boy' supporters.

"By the time Adam retired, he had been subject to a level of crowd booing and behavior that none of our players should ever face," McLachlan said in the AFL' s annual 2015 report, released on Friday.

"The debate that occurred about whether or not the booing was due to racism put further pressure on this great Indigenous leader and one of our games greatest champions.

"Adam stood up to represent indigenous people and he took a stand on racism. For this, I believe he was subject to hostility from some in our crowds.

"As a game, we should have acted sooner and I am sorry we acted too slowly."

McLachlan said the enitire AFL community would eventually "properly celebrate" Goodes for his on-field and off-field achievements in time. Endit