The ABC has made a not-so-subtle swipe at former Prime Minister John Howard in a Twitter post, sparking an outpouring of angry backlash.
The Liberal party legend watched the third day of The Ashes at London’s Lord’s Cricket Ground on Friday night, along with his wife Janette and a row back from former Socceroos boss turned incoming Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou.
“One of the country’s most inspiring and successful leaders, and a former politician who watches the cricket at Lord’s,” the ABC Sport Twitter account posted.
Former Prime Minister John Howard and incoming Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou sat next to each other on day three of the Ashes Test at London’s Lord’s Cricket Ground
The ABC sent viewers into a spin with a conspicuously placed comma when describing the two familiar Aussies
The anonymous ABC employee’s very deliberate use of the Oxford comma, indicating that he called Postecoglou the “inspiring and successful leader,” sent Twitter into a frenzy.
“Seriously, the ABC is supposed to be impartial by its charter,” one person wrote.
“The ABC definitely wouldn’t tweet this if it was an Australian Labor Party politician like Rudd, Gillard or Keating,” said another.
“Where’s the respect… Give me the links to the complaints department,” demanded a third.
But some other commentators, perhaps Labor voters, could see the funny side.
“This is hilarious, and I send both my congratulations and condolences to the staffer who may not have a job on Monday,” one person joked.
“Well played, ABC,” added another.
“That Oxford comma does a lot of heavy lifting in this joke,” said a third.
John Howard has a well-known penchant for cricket, but it seems that Postecoglou is also a big fan of the sport.
“I’m a big fan, I loved it growing up,” the 57-year-old told cricket.com.au.
“I have a lot of fond memories of playing in the front and back yard, I love the game.
‘I grew up in the time of [Dennis] Lille, [Jeff] Thomson, [Rod] Swamp and [Allan] Border…and I also remember staying up late to watch the Ashes when it was played in England.”
Postecoglou won two Scottish Premierships as Celtic manager before scoring a four-year deal to manage Tottenham Hotspur
Rain saved Ben Stokes’ England side from further punishment when it arrived on Friday with Australia on 130 for two, a lead of 221 runs.
Under pressure, England must desperately throw some punches on the fourth morning of the second Ashes Test to regain some ground.
It’s likely that Howard is back in the stands watching.
The self-proclaimed “cricket tragedy” spent 11 years in the country’s top court from 1996 to 2007.
During that period, he ‘hosted’ the annual Premier’s XI match against touring teams and made regular appearances in the Australian side’s dressing room after a win.
In 2004, he famously called bowler Muttiah Muralitharan a ‘chucker’ after his action was analyzed by a biomechanical lab in Perth, prompting the Sri Lankan to boycott a subsequent test.
Postecoglou, on the other hand, will start working for Tottenham on Saturday.
He has completed the biggest ever coaching move in Australian sport by signing as manager of the Premier League giant for the next four years, effective July 1.
The good news for Spurs, who have famously and consistently rigged their bids on silverware this century, is success follows pretty much wherever the offensive Postecoglou goes.
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou wins the Viaplay Cup with teammates trophy after winning in February
That started in his early thirties when he led South Melbourne to two National Soccer League championships as manager.
After a stint in the football wilderness after working with youth national teams for seven years, Postecoglou took over at Brisbane Roar and turned a struggle club into the revolutionary ‘Roarcelona’.
That included back-to-back grand final victories in 2011 and 2012 and a record 36 games unbeaten run before agreeing to join Melbourne Victory in April 2012.
He left Victory to captain the Socceroos at the 2014 World Cup before winning the Asian Cup – Australia’s first in the men’s game – on home soil the following January.
Postecoglou guided Australia to 2018 World Cup qualification before dramatically dropping out of the tournament.
He then led Yokohama F. Marinos to their first J1 League title in 15 years in 2019.
After joining Celtic in 2021, he won five of the six domestic trophies available, including claiming the treble this season.
He has also been the torchbearer for Australian football coaches, displaying a lesser known passport or set of coaching badges should not be a barrier to succeeding on the global stage.