How this innocent act by a Tottenham star broke one of the most controversial unwritten rules in Australian sport
- Spurs players are in Melbourne for a friendly against Newcastle
- A simple gesture during a training run could prove controversial
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Tottenham Hotspur stars broke one of the biggest unwritten rules in Australian sport on Tuesday night in Melbourne simply by handling an AFL football.
Thousands of fans ventured to AAMI Park for the team’s open training session, excited to see manager Ange Postecoglou and superstars like Son Heung-min.
Spurs are in town for Global Football Week, where they will face Newcastle in a friendly that has been described as pure “madness” by Alan Shearer, with the match also facing criticism from England manager Gareth Southgate .
In the past, visiting foreign clubs often posed for photos with iconic Sherrin footballs – but Football Australia has cracked down on the practice because it promotes a different code.
A Sherrin football was thrown onto the field at Spurs players on Tuesday night.
That didn’t stop a footy fan from throwing a shiny red Sherrin onto the field after Spurs star Brennan Johnson gestured for him to throw the ball as the team walked around the park.
‘Angel ! Angel, this is for you!’ » shouted the fan, throwing it over the fence.
Seconds later, the Spurs player kindly returned it to the crowd.
In 2022, Manchester United star Marcus Rashford posed for a photo with Sherrin which was posted on the AFL’s social media accounts.
Furious Australian rules football expert and television commentator Lucy Zelic slammed Football Australia for failing to prevent the “f***ing embarrassing” image.
“Can someone tell me what this is for?” » Zelic fumed against X.
“Will Marcus suddenly switch codes and sign for an AFL team? Go pet a koala, meet proud members of our indigenous communities and hang out with local FOOTBALL clubs.
The unofficial “No Sherrin” rule is in place to prevent tours from starting to promote a rival code (photo, Ange Postecoglou with Son Heung-min in Melbourne)
Australian TV star Lucy Zelic has lashed out after the AFL image on her social media of Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford posing with footballer Sherrin in 2022.
Manchester United star Rashford (pictured middle) also posed with members of several Melbourne sports clubs while in Australia.
“It’s just embarrassing.”
“This is a blatant PR exercise that Marcus was asked to do, nothing more. Multi-code promotions are a waste of time. They should please FOOTBALL fans,” she said. added.
“As a code, the AFL and its representatives have done nothing but bullshit about football time and time again.
“Who could forget 2009” when we bid for the World Cup and (former AFL CEO Andrew) Demetriou refused to ditch Etihad for an INTERNATIONAL tournament. Agreeing to participate in this stupidity is simply insulting.
