Sydney Swans champion Adam Goodes says fans booing is disappointing

THE AFL has cleaned up racial vilification on the field and now it’s time to turn it’s attention off the field to crowd behaviour.

The AFL has cleaned up racial vilification on the field and now it’s time to turn it’s attention off the field to crowd behaviour.

Indigenous round kicks off in Friday night at the SCG when Sydney host Carlton.

It is a mark against the code that one of its greatest players, Adam Goodes, continues to be booed by large sections of the crowd for what are clearly racial reasons.

Suggestions the boos are for staging for free kicks or simply because he is a champion playing for the opposition team are just nonsense.

The booing has only started since 2013 when he identified a teenage girl in the crowd who racially vilified him and the president of the club she supported Eddie McGuire made a King Kong reference to Goodes on Melbourne radio. It has also become amplified since he won Australian of the Year.

Every time Goodes took possession of the ball in last Saturday night’s grand final rematch against Hawthorn he was booed loud and long by a large section of the crowd.

The great occasion and great match was marred by the behaviour.

“To still think it’s happening is incredibly disappointing,” Goodes said.

“It affects my family, my partner and my friends who are at the game and are just trying to understand why. I don’t know why you have to go around and ask those Hawthorn supporters and people what their problem is with me. It doesn’t affect me while I’m playing.”

When asked if he thought it was a racial thing Goodes replied, “I don’t know, is it? You’d have to ask them.”

It’s now 20 years since Essendon great Michael Long took a stand against racial vilification and the AFL penned its Racial and Religious vilification policy when were the first anti-racism rules in Australian sport

“I was pretty disappointed to see that (booing Goodes) to hear that from spectators,” Long said.

“People need to look at themselves and ask why am I doing this? Here is a guy who is a great Australian and we need to support these people.

“He’s a young man and a leader, he’s trying to do his part in society. People don’t see the great work he does off the field. I know the man, he’s got a great heart.”

Long suggested some of booing surrounds Goodes naming as Australian of the year last year.

“He wasn’t the one who selected him as Australian of the year it was others people voted for that,” Long said.

Goodes paid tribute to his indigenous predecessors in the game including Long and their role in changing the game for current day players.

“I’m grateful to guys like Michael Long and Nicky Winmar, for standing up because if they didn’t do that how much harder might the environment be for Buddy or myself running around today,” Goodes said.

Lance Franklin was the subject of racial vilification from the crowd playing for Hawthorn in Tasmania in 2010.

“It’s unfortunate that stuff is still in the game,” Franklin said

“It was an upsetting day for me but also my team mates at that time

“It’s something that needs to be stamped out we are working towards it.”