Basil Zempilas under fire over gaffe in AFL grand final presentation

Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas has come under fire in the aftermath of the AFL grand final after seemingly forgetting to give victorious coach Simon Goodwin the chance to speak during the post-match presentation.

Melbourne's famous Norm Smith curse was broken with a burst of football wizardry in the grand final on Saturday night.

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Some 13 minutes into the third quarter, the cursed Demons looked beaten by the Western Bulldogs as they trailed by 19 points.

But a tick under 16 minutes later, Melbourne led by 24 points after a stunning seven-goal spree and the game, and curse, was over.

Demons players and the coaching staff were overjoyed after full-time, celebrating with fans who managed to get a ticket to the Optus Stadium decider.

However some fans were left a little disappointed when coach Goodwin didn't get the chance to speak in the trophy presentation.

Zempilas, the Perth Lord Mayor and Channel 7 commentator, invited Goodwin onto the stage to receive his premiership medal from West Coast premiership-winning mentor John Worsfold.

The victorious coach would normally then say a few words, however Zempilas continued on with the ceremony.

“We now have great pleasure in inviting a legend of the Melbourne Football Club, Garry Lyon, to present the premiership cup to captain Max Gawn and coach Simon Goodwin,” he said.

Lyon handed over the cup and Gawn and Goodwin held it aloft as Demons players rushed onto the stage to celebrate.

However Goodwin never got to give his victory speech.

Basil Zempilas called out over grand final presentation gaffe

AFL great Brendan Fevola was among those to question the oversight on social media, tweeting: “Why didn’t Goodwin give a speech? Basil cooked that."

Radio presenter Sam Wilkinson wrote: “Did Basil forget to let Simon Goodwin say a few words?”

While Paige Cardona added: “I just realised @BasilZempilas didn’t ask Simon Goodwin to speak.”

Others labelled it a "f**k up" from Zempilas.

It wasn't the first time Zempilas came under fire during grand final week after he was savaged for a 'cringeworthy' idea in the lead-up to Saturday's decider.

Zempilas revealed on Friday that the 60,0000-strong crowd at Optus Stadium would be encouraged to show their support for others doing it tough around the country, with a minute's applause during the first quarter of the grand final.

Zempilas said the gesture is designed to show the rest of Australia that Perth and the state of WA are right behind them during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the seemingly never-ending state of lockdown many find themselves in.

However the idea received swift blowback from AFL commentators and fans, with many labelling it 'cringeworthy' and 'rubbish'.

with AAP

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