Australia's most senior Olympic official has claimed his awkward exchange with Annastacia Palaszczuk was 'completely misinterpreted' as his contemporaries rush to his defence.
A clip of John Coates insisting the Queensland Premier attend Tokyo's opening ceremony before lecturing her on 'protocols' in front of a globally-beamed press conference went viral on Thursday morning.
'You are going to the opening ceremony,' Coates, also the vice-president of the International Olympic Committee, said as he crossed his arms and sat back in his chair.
Sports journalist Roy Masters, 79, insisted the seemingly condescending address was 'staged' to let Ms Palaszczuk 'off the hook' and able to attend the ceremony without attracting criticism back home from residents unable to leave the country.
Former politician Graham Richardson, 71, agreed, saying the pair were close friends and the exchange was an example of 'mates taking a ribbing from each other'.
IOC vice-president John Coates (right) denied was called a 'dinosaur' on Thursday after he chastised Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (left) publicly for not attending the Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony on Friday
Former politician Graham Richardson (pictured with wife Amanda) has leapt to the defence of AOC boss John Coates saying he and Ms Palaszczuk are 'great mates'
The controversial press conference was held moments after Brisbane had been announced as the winner of the 2032 Olympic Games and Ms Palaszczuk revealed she would watch Tokyo's opening ceremony from her hotel room.
'I'm still the deputy chair of the candidature leadership group and so far as I understand, there will be an opening and closing ceremony in 2032 and all of you are going to get along [to Tokyo's opening ceremony] and understand the traditional parts of that, what's involved,' he said.
'So none of you are staying behind and hiding in your rooms, alright?', Coates persisted to a very unimpressed looking Ms Palaszczuk.
'You've never been to an opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, have you? You don't know the protocols,' Coates said.
Ms Palaszczuk did not respond.
'It's a very important lesson for everyone here. The opening ceremonies cost in the order of 75 million to 100 million dollars. That's a major, major exercise for any organising committee. It puts the stamp on the games,' he continued on.
'It's very important to the broadcasts that follow. And I think it's my very strong recommendation the premier and the lord mayor and the minister be there and understand it. And while they're there, they can also be very proud to watch the parade of nations and particularly the Australian team.'
When referring to the exchange later in the press conference Ms Palaszczuk said: 'I don't want to offend anybody, so,' before trailing off.
Pictured: John Coates (left) and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (second left) celebrate with other delegates after Brisbane was announced as the 2032 Summer Olympics host city during the 138th IOC Session in Tokyo on July 21, 2021
Coates claimed a reluctant Palaszczuk must attend the ceremony despite her Covid concerns
But Ms Palaszczuk - an experienced diplomat - told ABC News Breakfast later that there were no hard feelings.
'He's fantastic. If we didn't have John Coates, this would not have happened,' she said.
'He has been the driving force behind us securing the Olympics. He has been able to get all levels of government to work together for us to have this bid and his engagement with the business community, his networks are absolutely phenomenal.'
'I'm going to give credit where credit's due. It's great for him that he was there with Sydney [in 2000] and now he's ushered in this opportunity for Brisbane and Queensland.'
Popular former NRL coach and sports journalist Roy Masters agreed, penning a column for The Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday afternoon calling Coates 'the best politician in Australia'.
He said Coates was pivotal in Sydney's successful bid for the 2000 Olympics by travelling through Africa and with former PM Gough Whitlam and lobbying countries there for their vote.
'The one politician Coates most resembles, both in political leaning and love of the one-liner – clever but guaranteed to attract retribution – is Whitlam,' Masters wrote.
Scenes of celebration broke out in Brisbane on Wednesday night after the city was awarded the 2032 Olympic Games
Families celebrate in Brisbane after learning the Olympics will come to Australia in 2032
He also claimed the whole exchange was staged - that Ms Palaszczuk needed someone to 'get her off the hook' from returning to Queensland to quarantine.
Coates apparently rang the newspaper to say Ms Palaszczuk had actually thanked him after they walked away from the cameras.
'The media in Brisbane have been giving her a hard time, saying she shouldn't go to the opening ceremony, but she had to go,' he said.
'The plan was I was going to fix it. I fixed it. I was taking the heat off her. We all came back and had a drink all night in my room to celebrate. I wasn't having a go at her at all.'
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (L) hold up copies of the Host Agreement after Brisbane was announced as the 2032 Summer Olympics host city with President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach
Independent Australian senator Rex Patrick was joined by other lawmakers social media users in calling out Mr Coates for his public comments to Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Thursday, with many calling him a 'dinosaur' and 'disrespectful'
Annastacia Palaszczuk (left) and John Coates (right) are both in Tokyo for the Olympics which had been delayed 12 months
In a statement
