Footy fans SLAM Brisbane boss for defending Dayne Zorko after sledge at Demons star Harrison Petty

Angry footy fans have slammed Brisbane Lions boss Danny Daly for defending Dayne Zorko following his below-the-belt sledge aimed at Melbourne Demons star Harrison Petty.

Petty, 22, broke down in tears during the three-quarter time break last Friday night at the Gabba.

It followed Zorko allegedly telling Petty ‘I hope your mother dies’ during the game.

Zorko apologised to Petty on Saturday, admitting that he ‘lost control of his emotions’.

He could also escape further punishment from the AFL.

Daly admitted the conduct of his captain ‘wasn’t ideal’, but the club’s focus was to monitor the wellbeing of their polarising midfielder, who has gained a reputation on the field as the man rival supporters love to hate.

Footy fans have slammed Brisbane Lions boss Danny Daly online after defending Dayne Zorko following his below the belt sledge aimed at Melbourne Demons star Harrison Petty

Petty was reduced to tears after Zorko allegedly told him ‘I hope your mother dies’ last Friday in tense scenes

‘He’s quite sorry and still emotional about it all,’ he said.

Daly later told SEN radio that the club addressed the issue with the Demons on Friday night after fulltime.

‘The club made a statement on Saturday morning and that’s where it sits,’ he added.

‘To be perfectly honest, our goal right now is to make sure Dayne is okay from a mental health perspective.

‘We’re just making sure Dayne is going okay, that’s what we need to do as a football club. 

‘He came out and apologised on Saturday…from a mental health perspective we just need to make sure he’s going okay.’

The Demons star started the fourth quarter on the bench as he dealt with the emotions surrounding Zorko’s alleged slur

One footy fan felt the fact that Lions skipper Dayne Zorko is playing the victim is ’embarrassing’

Another AFL fan pointed out Harrison Petty’s welfare should be the priority 

Painting Zorko as the victim rather than the aggressor infuriated countless fans, who called on the Lions to show better leadership.

There have been calls by many in the footy industry to strip Zorko of the Brisbane captaincy, and the Lions star also disabled his Instagram in the wake of the controversy.

It also isn’t the first time Zorko has faced the wrath of the footy community for the manner in which he chases a Sherrin.

Zorko took over as Lions skipper in 2018 after previous captain Dayne Beams stepped down following a controversy of his own.

He was blasted just months after moving into the role, with AFL legend Tim Watson slamming his ‘terrible leadership’ after a continual run-in with Gold Coast tagger Touk Miller.

It included multiple occasions of Zorko either refusing to shake Miller’s hand, forcibly doing so sarcastically or abusing him both during and after the game.

Many fans also raised Zorko’s history with his own family as to the reason why he, of all people, shouldn’t be using such vile, alleged slurs.

Dayne Zorko, pictured with partner Talia Demarco, has insistent he is contrite and will learn from the matter involving Harry Petty

Dayne Zorko’s ex-partner Kalinda Salla split with the Lions skipper after she found a series of salacious text messages on his mobile phone

Zorko split from former partner Kalinda Salla in 2018 after a photo of him asleep on the couch surfaced on his Instagram.

The photo was captioned: ‘Thank goodness I know your pass code Dayne so I could see why you actually didn’t care about leaving me. Have fun you f**king horrible human being. You ruined mine and (our son’s) life.’

Salla shared a video to her own Instagram account at the time, appearing to show her scrolling through Zorko’s phone, revealing a series of salacious text messages.

It was a situation not lost on many footy fans.

The pair have since split, and he has moved on with current partner Talia Demarco.

Brisbane will look to put the saga behind them when they take on Richmond in a blockbuster elimination final on Thursday night.