Culture

Football Champion Aaron Chen Has “Apologised” For His Controversial ABC Coverage

It's probably not the apology sports fans are after.

by Chris Woods  25 May 2017
Aaron Chen

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By now, you absolutely should have watched (or maybe hate-watched) ABC2’s cross to ~football pro~ Aaron Chen during Sydney FC’s crushing 3-0 loss to Liverpool at ANZ stadium.

As we covered earlier, Chen’s awkward and nonsensical interaction with crowd members at the exhibition game — while pretty hilarious — also pissed off a good chunk of sports fans. Many raised real concerns that it undermined the game itself, and jeopardised ABC’s chances of obtaining future coverage of the sport.

Now, Chen has responded to the criticism of his interview, and look it’s amazing, but if you want a sincere apology you might want to look elsewhere.

Insisting that he is actually a big fan of [sic] snoccer, Chen told journos at The Greenfield Post that “I was there in 2008 when Australia qualified for the 2009 World Cup against Uzbekistan…”

“If I could afford it, I’d love to be a Sydney support and sit in the cave.”

When asked what the reaction has been like since setting the soccer world on fire/ruining some kids’ night, Chen makes a half-assed attempt to push blame onto a “noisy stadium”. Pressed on Les Murray and Robbie Slater’s particularly harsh responses, Chen takes the high road:

“I would love to do a poem about how I feel about Lee Murdoch and Robin Slacker,” Chen said. “Robin Slacker I’m your number one backer, Lee Murdoch… you’re my hero and I love you.”

“Please, if anyone wants to do anything dangerous to themselves because of the coverage last night, I’m so sorry. If you need to call me please message me on Facebook and I’ll give you my number immediately. That’s the poem.”

Now, as funny as self-harm absolutely isn’t, Chen was in fairness responding to someone threatening to rip their dick off in response.

Finally, he offers the entire nation a genuine, and thankfully rhyming, apology: “I’m sorry Australia, you’re quite nice. If I could be there with you I’d love to, twice.”

A class act to the end folks! Not for nothing, criticism of Chen has reportedly meant the ABC are reconsidering offering this kind of coverage, although the stunt has created an equal and opposite wave of support.

Check out (most of) the interview below, and decide for yourselves on the man who has now officially divided a nation.