Image: Screengrab from Facebook/FOX Sports Australia
The Gilas-Australia brawl on Monday night, July 2, is a much talked about matter that has pervaded the social media accounts of many. The conversations continue to persist as fans of the game worldwide find themselves torn over the unsportsmanlike behavior shown by the players of both teams.
The game, which took place at the Philippine Arena, saw the Philippines on a bout with Australia for the Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers. The game was stopped at the 4:01 mark of the third quarter when Australian player Daniel Kickert sent Gilas Pilipinas player Roger Pogoy to the ground with an elbow shove.
The reaction to the brawl has since been mixed, with some condemning the violence of the players, while others stood by them and justified their actions.
Australian reporter Greg Thomson of FOX Sports Australia was one who didn’t mask his irritation on air with his stinging words. Thomson, who was reporting about the brawl on camera, did not think twice to call the Gilas players’ acts “absolute thuggery.”
The video was shared on the Facebook page of FOX Sports Australia last July 2. In the video, Thomson can be heard saying, “The thing that absolutely irritated me, and I’m being very serious about this, the Philippines team needs to be struck off for 12 months, those officials who threw punches and chairs need to get lifetime bans.”
“That is appalling, disgusting thuggery. Absolute thuggery. You represent your nation, you wear their colors right?”
A spectator shown throwing a chair at Australian player Nathan Sobey. Image: Screengrab from Facebook/FOX Sports Australia
“And that’s how you represent yourself? That’s how you represent your family? That’s how you represent your nation? It is absolute thuggery. And to add insult to injury, these muppets, these braindead imbeciles posed for a selfie when the officials are working out what the hell to do,” Thomson continued to say.
Thomson flashed a replay of the brawl on screen, at one point saying, “Look at those imbeciles, the blue, running over and jumping the fence…”
But for Thomson, it seems that the act of taking a selfie right after the brawl was what really appalled him. “That selfie, that selfie, that’s worse than the punches being thrown, that is just…” Thomson found himself unable to go on, as he let out an exasperated sigh.
Marc Pingris has since apologized for the selfie that he took after the brawl, saying on Wednesday, July 4, that he meant no disrespect.
““I sincerely apologize to everyone who were affected by the selfie that I took during the break of the Gilas Pilipinas vs. Australia game. While I honestly meant no disrespect to anyone, I realized that the timing was inappropriate,” Pingris said on his Instagram account.
Thomson, on his end, shared the INQUIRER.net sports article of Pingris’ apology on his Twitter page yesterday.
Thomson wrote, “Philippines thugs apologise for insta selfie which has since been deleted.” JB
https://twitter.com/Thomson_Greg/status/1014422454914039808
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