Fox Sports commentator Robbie Slater has backed his extraordinary Twitter outburst against Craig Foster, in which he accused the SBS pundit of racism.
Fox Sports commentator Robbie Slater has backed his extraordinary Twitter outburst against Craig Foster, in which he accused the SBS pundit of racism.
Slater stunned the football community on Sunday afternoon with a social media tirade against Foster, blasting the often controversial SBS pundit for a newspaper column in which he criticised Melbourne Victory-s appointment of new coach Jim Magilton.
Foster used his column to argue that the decision to hire Magilton, from Northern Ireland, represented a backwards step to when the Australian game was heavily influenced by players and coaches from the United Kingdom.
But Slater let loose on Twitter on Sunday afternoon, writing, “I am sick of the continual attacks and in my opinion racist comments from Craig Foster on British people.
“Why do you pretend to know what and who is a good coach? You have never coached anyone and why is nationality important? British people have made a massive contribution to the history of our game and continue to do so.”
Slater also alluded to an incident involving Foster from his playing days with the Socceroos, suggesting it led the former midfielder being banned from the national team.
Foster refused to bite back at Slater-s comments, saying, “The issue regarding coaching culture & quality is absolutely critical for HAL & future of the Australian game.
“It’s always about the game. Not me, [or] any other former players or their personal relationships.”
Slater appeared on Fox Sports- Long Lunch on Monday to say he stood by his comments and repeated his suggestion that Foster-s column constituted racism.
“It shouldn-t matter what race somebody is whether they coach a club or not, and it-s certainly not Craig Foster-s position to tell everyone what should and shouldn-t happen. I stick by everything that I-ve said.”
What do you think about this debate about the nationality of coaches? Add your comments below, and please note this is not a forum to discuss rumours about personal history and will be moderated as such.
