Geelong champion Gary Ablett was booed relentlessly in yesterday’s Easter Monday victory over Hawthorn at the MCG.
Ablett, 34, was met with a chorus of boos from Hawks fans whenever he took possession of the ball, as the two-time Brownlow Medallist starred for the Cats with 23 disposals and three goals.
Essendon great Tim Watson believes there’s a link between the boos and Ablett liking a controversial Instagram post from fallen Wallabies star Israel Folau.
“Yesterday early in the game I picked up on fans booing Gary Ablett,” Watson told SEN Breakfast.
“My thought immediately wasn’t they were booing him because he liked the Izzy Folau post social post.
“Then I got a couple of texts about it and then I started listening and the boos grew and grew, and I thought: ‘that’s what it is … that’s why people are booing the way they did at the MCG yesterday.’
“It can’t be just because he’s a great player and people don’t appreciate the fact that he’s a great player, because I’ve never heard them boo like that before.”
Ablett later took to Instagram to clarify the like, stating that he loves “ALL people regardless of race, religion, gender or sexuality" and why it "appeared" offensive.