By Nick Mulvenney
SYDNEY, July 30 (Reuters) - The row over the booing of Australian Rules player Adam Goodes showed no sign of abating on Thursday as athletes from his own sport and other codes rallied around the indigenous footballer.
The 35-year-old was given an indeterminate leave of absence by his Sydney Swans club after being jeered relentlessly and racially abused by rival supporters during a match in Perth last weekend.
It was only the latest case of vilification that Goodes has faced in Australian Football League (AFL) matches over the last year, incidents which have embarrassed the sport and triggered a nationwide debate over racism.
Goodes, who has been outspoken about indigenous issues since being named Australian of the Year in 2014, has kept his own counsel but Swans chief John Ireland repeated his view that the booing had a clear racial aspect.
"Personally, I think a lot of the points that are raised around why people don't like Adam, or why the booing's occurring, are excuses. I don't think it's anything to do with the way he plays his footy," he told reporters on Thursday.
"I agree with commentators that make the point that the reason people are having a go at Adam, and the booing, emanates because he's not a quiet indigenous person who sits in the corner. He's got a view."
Ireland moved to ease fears that the booing might force Goodes to retire and said his "gut feeling" was the player would complete a season he had already said would be his last.
"My current view is that I think he will come back and play through the remainder of the season, but to be frank I couldn't be certain about it," he added.
"Certainly no one at the club, in the discussions that we've had with him, has talked about retirement."
While AFL officials and most politicians from states where Australian Rules is the most popular sport have echoed Ireland's condemnation, his view is by no means a consensus.
Former Australian rules great Jason Akermanis, who like Goodes was a winner of the Brownlow Medal as the AFL's best and fairest player, said fans had the right to boo who they wanted.
"Any stupid journalists who said that they're racist is kidding themselves," he told Fox Sports TV on Thursday.
"I got booed and no one ever said it was racist ... Umpires get booed every week.
"Adam Goodes has got to stop looking like a sook (cry-baby) and stop making it about him in this sense, and also he should stop trying to play the victim."
A former top-flight soccer player was stood down from a match on Wednesday after tweeting that Goodes should be deported, the hardline stance of Football Federation Australia reflecting the level of support for Goodes in the sporting community.
Goodes's Swans team mate Lewis Jetta, also an indigenous Australian, performed a war dance in front of the Perth fans last weekend and some National Rugby League players said they were planning similar acts of solidarity this weekend.
"I'll show my respect for Adam, indigenous athletes and all the indigenous people with a little move on the weekend if I'm lucky enough to score," Australian international Johnathan Thurston told Sydney's Daily Telegraph.
The Richmond AFL club will wear a special shirt usually reserved for the league's indigenous week in their match this weekend to support Goodes.
"There's a lot of support from a lot of other players in the AFL and a lot of the other captains and we're extremely thankful for that support," Swans co-captain Jarrad McVeigh said.