THE Footy Show was under fresh attack yesterday after radio broadcaster Ray Hadley alleged last Thursday's embarrassing pre-recorded segment ridiculing a disabled man was often a deliberate aim of the show.
Host Paul Vautin has apologised for ridiculing Brisbane's Caxton Hotel bouncer Greg Stacey for drunkenness during Thursday's show, when he in fact suffers benign epilepsy, and will issue a public apology this Thursday.
While Stacey is considering legal action against the network, Hadley alleged on air yesterday that former Channel 9 head of sport Gary Burns, who has since returned to Nine to pilot the ailing show, would often send his "Street Talk" staff on to the streets in search of "nuffies".
Nine yesterday rejected the claims.
If true, the allegations question the genuineness of the apology made to Stacey.
"Those were his words, 'Where's the nuffies?'," 2GB presenter Hadley told The Daily Telegraph.
"Their favourite haunt was the old Church St mall at Parramatta (NSW) and (former producer) Glenn Pallister would be sent along with whoever was doing it and Burns used to say, 'Get the nuffies'.
"I did it once and said I'm never doing it again.
"They would search around for homeless people, derelicts, alcoholics, people who look different.
"The Melbourne Footy Show would do the same thing with Sam Newman."
In a further development, Burns was last night reviewing transcripts of Hadley's Continuous Call show and is considering legal action against the broadcaster.
A Nine spokesman said Hadley's claims are "refuted absolutely and categorically".
Nine insiders blame Hadley's attack on a long-standing feud between him and the show's host.
Hadley mentioned several times over the weekend that he was sacked from the show but claimed it was a blessing in disguise.
Vautin did not see the footage before it was aired, which Hadley admitted left him vulnerable to making a mistake. However, Hadley has questioned Nine's claims of an innocent mistake.
"The thing about it is that it was recorded on Wednesday night and it would have been seen by editors, producers and others involved in the show," he said.
"Vautin never looked at the tape, even though hosts usually look at the tape, so he is not as culpable as others, but editors and producers would have seen it."
The segment is most often presented by jockey Allan Robinson.
Hadley has since viewed the Nine footage and believed it was easily apparent that Stacey was suffering from some sort of illness and was not merely drunk.
"There's no doubt they are still targeting disabled, disadvantaged and sometimes people affected by alcohol," he said.
"They had ample time to review the footage and come to the conclusion it would be better not to air, but a cheap laugh was more important."
