Foxtel boss apologises for making offensive Nazi salute

Warning: Graphic content

The chief executive of majority News Corp-owned Foxtel Group has apologised after an image of him performing an offensive Nazi salute was published on Sunday night.

Responding to the image, first published by Crikey, Patrick Delany said it was taken about a decade ago on the set of Fox Sports’ A-League coverage. Delany was chief executive of Fox Sports at the time.

Foxtel boss Patrick Delany demonstrates a Nazi salute on a Fox Sports set. He says the image was taken about a decade ago.Credit: Crikey.com.

In an email to staff on Sunday, the Foxtel boss said he believed he was demonstrating a likeness between the “Sieg Heil” salute and a hand action made by Western Sydney Wanderers fans during a popular chant.

“While the context is important, the fact I demonstrated this offensive salute was wrong,” he said.

Delany told staff on Sunday night that the image of him “making an inappropriate salute which is highly offensive to the Jewish community” was published online.

“I am very sorry for my actions and sincerely apologise to people who have been hurt or offended, especially members of the Jewish community,” he said in the email.

“Since becoming aware of this photo, I have been searching my mind for a circumstance, from over a decade ago, where a photo capturing me in this pose could ever be possible. The picture is completely inconsistent with my values and beliefs, and family connections.”

He said he was a signatory to the Say No to Antisemitism letter published in late 2023, and condemned antisemitism in any form. He also said he had spoken with a number of Jewish leaders.

“Racism in all its forms is not acceptable, and I acknowledge the seriousness of my actions,” Delany said.

In the image, Delany places two fingers between his nose and mouth, to imitate Adolf Hitler’s moustache. The Wanderers fans referenced by Delany do not make a similar moustache gesture with their hands.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said Delany had made a full and unreserved apology to the Jewish community on Monday afternoon for performing a Nazi salute.

“Patrick made clear that, regardless of the context in which the salute was performed, he understood the offence and hurt that the gesture causes Jewish Australians and the many Australians whose family members were killed or injured fighting the Nazis during World War II,” Ossip said.

“We accept Patrick’s apology and recognise his and Lachlan Murdoch’s strong and unequivocal repudiation of antisemitism in Australia over the past 10 months.”

The incident served as a valuable reminder about where unbridled hatred ultimately led, Ossip said, and reinforced the need to educate next generations about the atrocities “perpetrated in service of the evil Nazi ideology”.

Delany was appointed chief executive of Foxtel Group in 2018.Credit: Brook Mitchell

Delany was appointed chief executive of Foxtel Group in 2018 at a time when the prospects of the legacy pay TV company appeared under threat. Under Delany, Foxtel has since launched a number of digital products, including streaming services Kayo and Binge and, more recently, streaming aggregator Hubbl. He has been crucial in transforming Foxtel into a digital-first company.

Global News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson announced this month that Foxtel was for sale, after receiving initial third-party interest.

News Corp has taken a hardline stance on antisemitism in the past, led by the company’s chair Lachlan Murdoch, and particularly since the October 7 attack in Israel.

During an address to Australian News Corp staff in November, Murdoch said “there is no room for equivocation” or fence-sitting on antisemitism.

“From Brisbane to Broome, from Launceston to Lakemba, antisemitism does not belong in Australia. It is our duty to address and tackle it, as it is to address and tackle all forms of hatred,” he said.

News Corp was approached for comment.

Fox Sports was the official broadcaster of the A-Leagues until 2021, when the competition moved to Network 10 and streaming service Paramount+.

Former Socceroo Mark Bosnich was part of the on-air presenting team for Fox Sports. In 1996, Bosnich made a similar salute while playing for English Premier League club Aston Villa against Tottenham Hotspur, a team with a historically large Jewish following. He was fined £1000. Bosnich was approached for comment.

Australian soccer has a long history of fans making similar salutes. In April, a Western Sydney fan caught making a Nazi salute at an A-League match was banned for two years from attending matches.

Another fan, 24-year-old Sydney United 58FC supporter Dominik Sieben, denied making the salute during a court hearing this year, saying “it had nothing to do with Nazis” after he was captured holding his hand raised out in front of him while wearing a Croatian jersey.

In some states, including Victoria and NSW, it is a criminal offence to make the Nazi salute, however there are some exemptions. A similar law was passed by federal parliament this year.

Delany also apologised to any Foxtel staff who had been hurt or offended by his actions and told them he was available to answer any questions or hear concerns this week.

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