Soccer star ‘apologizes’ after mocking rival with sled crying two years after insult ‘I hope your mother dies’

Brisbane Lions veteran Dayne Zorko says he has spoken to Noah Answerth and insists his teammate apologizes for ‘crying’ sledging towards Melbourne’s Harrison Petty.

Answerth mocked Petty by rubbing his eyes in the fourth quarter of the Lions’ 22-point victory Thursday night after the Demons forward missed a shot.

Lion, 24, appeared to be referencing an altercation between Petty and Zorko during a 2022 game at the Gabba that left Melbourne in tears.

Zorko allegedly told Petty “I hope your mom dies,” making the Demons star cry.

Zorko, who was booed by Demons fans every time he had the ball Thursday night, says he was not aware of the Answerth incident immediately after the game.

But he openly addressed it in a radio interview saying he would speak to Answerth.

The former Lions captain said Answerth was “disappointed” with his actions.

“We are always learning, we are always trying to improve,” Zorko told SEN on Monday.

‘As I said that night, I didn’t realize it until after the game when they asked me in an interview.

But I’m sure he’ll learn from it and I’ve had a brief chat with him about it.

“It’s just not the way we want to win as a football club and he is fully aware of that.

“He apologizes profusely and we move on from there.”

Melbourne defender Jake Lever said it shouldn’t be part of the game.

“He (Petty) had a tough time there a few years ago and as a player you don’t know what other people are going through,” Lever told the Seven Network on Thursday night.

“I think football has cleaned up those types of acts.”

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin and his Lions counterpart Chris Fagan insisted they had not seen the incident and refused to elaborate when asked about it in their post-match press conferences.