Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire says the concept that supporters are the 19th player on the ground have fuelled booing incidents such as the one that occurred against Lance Franklin in Sunday’s match at the MCG.
McGuire, speaking with Cats great Jimmy Bartel on their podcast Eddie and Jimmy, said supporters were buying into the idea they could help influence games by cheering or booing at the football.
Swans champion Franklin, as well as teammate Tom Papley, copped boos from Collingwood supporters from early in the first quarter on Sunday. On Monday, Collingwood apologised to Franklin and the Swans for the booing of the champion.
“I think the reason for it is that most supporters believe themselves to be the 19th player, and the atmosphere is there, and we’ve heard numerous times this year club captains say, ‘our supporters got us over the line, the energy we were able to draw’,” McGuire said.
“That’s legitimate, that’s why you have hometowns, and the great sides around the world, it’s not necessarily the teams, it’s the supporters that give them that atmosphere.
“Buddy Franklin’s caused more mayhem for Collingwood supporters over his career than about anyone.
“I booed because everyone else booed.”
Collingwood member
“He was the bloke, even on Sunday, that could have turned the game for the Sydney Swans had he got a couple of goals.”
But McGuire has urged Magpie fans to enjoy the ride this year and refrain from bringing negative attention onto the premiership favourites.
“If you’re a Collingwood supporter in this situation, all it does is bring a lot of pain and suffering to your club,” he said.
“It brings pain and suffering to a lot of people. It gives the opportunity for other people to have a go [at Collingwood]. Let’s enjoy it. Let’s turn all our aggression into positivity for our team.”
One Collingwood member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he did boo on the weekend but realised in hindsight that was a mistake.
Eddie McGuire says the concept of a 19th player has contributed to booing incidents.Credit: Kate Geraghty
“I booed because everyone else booed, and I didn’t like the treatment they were giving Nick Daicos, so that’s why I contributed to it,” the member said.
“But hearing what Craig McRae and Darcy Moore had to say, I’m obviously big fans of them, and if they don’t want us to boo I’m not going to boo, and I do believe it was a little bit of bullying given we specifically targeted him. But it wasn’t for racist reasons.”
Collingwood supporter Alex Aquilina believed the booing of Franklin on Sunday was purely gamesmanship.
“l didn’t [boo], but l can understand why [Pies fans did],” Aquilina said.
“Booing was just trying to put him off his game.
“[It’s the] only option supporters have of trying to get involved with the players and game.
“Love Buddy as a player and wished he played for the Pies. He’s such a dangerous player, so supporters have to try something.”
McGuire said the degrees of what was acceptable and not acceptable from supporters were becoming wider.
Lance Franklin was booed by some Magpies supporters during Sunday’s clash between Collingwood and Sydney.Credit: Getty Images
“On the weekend, you’re not allowed to boo Buddy Franklin, but you’re allowed to boo Tom Papley,” he said.
“Tom Stewart says he’s expecting to be booed this week. Is Horne-Francis allowed to be booed by North Melbourne supporters because he left them, but other supporters can’t boo him?
“I don’t boo, it doesn’t enter my head. The only time I rise when the booing gets going is when one team has had one free kick to 12 at quarter-time.
“That’s part of the theatre.
“But I concur with the release that came out yesterday. The thing we hold true to ourselves in football that I love, and I’ve had a number of international guests at the football this year already, the first thing they cannot believe is that everyone sits together.”
Former coach Mick Malthouse said consistently booing a player was un-Australian.
“He has been a champion, has been a champion for a number of years, and regardless of whether he is a champion, to be booed by a section of the crowd, and I think we have to put it in perspective, it was a section of the crowd. I don’t get it, I don’t think anyone gets it,” he said.
“Booing is part of the game, they boo the umpires, boo a result, boo a decision, but to be consistently booing a player is just dreadful – it’s not Australian.”
Bartel said he had memories of playing alongside Joel Selwood, who copped a lot of flak from opposition supporters.
“I played the majority of my career with Joel Selwood, and he copped it everywhere because people thought he was getting too many free kicks, too high, blah blah blah,” Bartel said.
“But the day he retired …”
“The hostility was over,” interjected McGuire.
“Nathan Buckley was exactly the same.”
with Jon Pierik
