The SBS anchor who copped a barrage of abuse for her pronunciation of the names of international players during her World Cup commentary has revealed how she deals with the heat.
Lucy Zelic has been the subject of abuse for her tendency to enunciate players’ names in the brogue of their native country, with critics accusing her of adopting a ‘fake accent’.
The 31-year-old has opened up about criticism, that in 2014 saw her almost walk away from her job, telling news.com.au that: ‘It’s not really an issue any more.’
SBS anchor Lucy Zelic (pictured) is being derided by viewers for her commentary on the World Cup soccer broadcast – specifically, the way she pronounces the names of international players
The 31-year-old has now opened up about the criticism, that in 2014 saw her almost walk away from the sport
‘Four years ago I’d only been at SBS for a year and was inexperienced television-wise. I didn’t know how to deal with criticism from strangers and members of the public but because of my love of football I had to deal with it.
‘Five years later I have friends in the industry — women but also a lot of men too — it’s just words on a screen now. I separate the public Lucy from the private Lucy.’
It has become a quasi tradition in the SBS studio to pronounce names the way they would be said in the player’s home country after the late football icon Les Murray made a point of it.
While Murray was celebrated, Zelic has been ruthlessly abused by fans.
Last World Cup the detractors came in hard and heavy. One user told her to: ‘Get the f*** off my television screen you ugly bimbo.’
Critics and trolls have condemned Zelic’s tendency to pronounce players’ names in the brogue of their native country, accusing her of adopting a ‘fake accent’
There are those who have stepped up to defend Zelic against the naysayers and critics
Many have pointed to sexism as the reason why Zelic is receiving such widespread criticism
Zeric, whose brother is also the former Socceroo defender Ned Zelic also received accusations of nepotism for receiving her role at SBS
Another tweeted at her: ‘You stupid f***ing s**t, what do you know about Portugal?! It’s clear you only got that job because you slept with someone,’ piped up another.
This time has been no different, with people taking to social media to call the veteran presenter ‘F****** annoying,’ insufferable,’ and ‘painful.’
Zeric, whose brother is also the former Socceroo defender Ned Zelic, also received accusations of nepotism for receiving her role at SBS.
‘Good on you SBS, nepotism at it’s finest,’ commented one social media user in 2014.
The 31-year-old has opened up about the abuse, saying she has become desensitised to it
The heavily-inflected commentary was a widely-applauded trademark of the late SBS football icon Les Murray (pictured)
‘Putting the term ”it’s all who you know” on show here, wish I had a brother who was a former Socceroo on the inside too,’ said another.
At the time, the barrage of abuse almost saw the commentator walk away form her role.
‘At about 12am one morning right before I was due to make my way into the studio, I lay on the bathroom floor in the foetal position crying for hours because I just couldn’t take it anymore,’ she wrote in a piece for SBS.
‘At that point, I considered calling my then executive producer Noel Brady to tell him that I was quitting.
In the last few days many people have stepped up to defend the commentator
‘The only thing that saved me on that cold winter morning while I was busy wanting to dissolve into the porcelain tiles was my love for the game.’
In the last few days many people have stepped up to defend the commentator and her pronunciation of the players names.
‘Keep it up Lucy.. you have definitely earned your stripes. Intelligent, funny and great knowledge of the game. I’m a huge fan!’ one user wrote.
As the broadcaster’s coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Moscow gets underway, the disparagers are starting to rear their heads
‘Don’t get the uproar around Lucy. Not only is she a pioneer for women in football, she knows her stuff, is authentic and could keep Les Murray’s legacy alive on her own. Keep it going,’ tweeted another.
‘Only in Australia we could bag someone for doing their job correctly. Lucy Zelic is a broadcaster. It’s her job to get the correct pronunciation. It’s called professionalism,’ said another.
Zelic co-hosts the Australian World Cup broadcast alongside SBS Chief Football Analyst Craig Foster.