Justin Leppitsch having to apologise to a Brisbane Lions player is a joke, Mark Robinson says

JUSTIN Leppitsch, the coach, grabbed the jumper of Zac O’Brien, the player, and you’d think it was an international incident. VOTE: Did Leppa need to apologise?

Brisbane Lions head coach Justin Leppitsch at training. Pic Jono Searle.

JUSTIN Leppitsch, the coach, grabbed the jumper of Zac O’Brien, the player, and you’d think it was an international incident.

The world is marching to the beat of political correctness. Inside football club rooms is not normal society and in some cases the laws of society are not applied to football club rooms.

Leppitsch did not assault O’Brien at the workplace, as some would like to believe.

He manhandled him all right, probably forcefully, and he probably yelled at him, swore and angrily pointed the finger.

So what?

The incident on Saturday night between Leppitsch, O’Brien and Lions reserves coach Shane Woewodin is not uncommon in football clubs.

It started when Woewodin, who was in the coaches box, sent the runner three times to O’Brien instructing him to be interchanged.

When O’Brien finally got to the bench, Woewodin and O’Brien had a phone conversation.

In the heat of the moment, O’Brien responded to one of Woewodin’s comments with a popular comment of his own. (The first word started with G and the second started with F.) And then hung up.

If it weren’t so semi-serious, you’d laugh.

Lion Zac O’Brien trying to bring down Kangaroo Ben Cunnington. Picture: Michael Klein

The issue escalated when Leppitsch, who was in the coaches box, stormed into the rooms at half-time and took O’Brien into the coaches room. There Leppitsch grabbed the front of O’Brien's jumper and pulled him down from the step on which O’Brien was standing.

A fiery conversation ensued before calm waters returned and the second half was played out.

O’Brien, 24, has played six games for the Lions and is considered the spiritual leader of the reserves team with his frantic attack on the ball.

Leppitsch told him leaders could not behave as he did and O’Brien agreed. Football club rooms are weird and wonderful places full of weird and wonderful people, but there’s one standing rule: Don’t ever disrespect the coach.

O’Brien apologised several times and Leppitsch apologised to O’Brien. And then on Tuesday the two of them made public apologies.

Can you believe that?

O’Brien was definitely in the wrong and Leppitsch’s emotions got the better of him. But a public apology? It’s ridiculous.

How ’bout we don’t worry about your petty squabbles and you guys just win games of football.

Perception is always the killer.

The Lions can’t win games. Worse still, they can’t even compete. And at the weekend the coach had a minor scuffle with a player.

From afar, it seem the pressure is mounting.

At the Gold Coast, they have suspended three players for drinking alcohol. That’s happened many times before with players and there’s also one rule for that: Don’t get caught.

Clearly, coach Rodney Eade has put a line through this season as potential finalists and instead is trying to set a standard among the playing group.

Originally published as Justin Leppitsch having to apologise to a Brisbane Lions player is a joke, Mark Robinson says