WP Rugby has launched an investigation into alleged racist behaviour that occurred during last Saturday's Rugby Championship match at Newlands.
According to Cape Talk radio, the accusations have been levelled at a group of men dressed in khaki outfits, who used the 'k-word' every time a South African player of colour made an error on the field of play.
When confronted by another member of the crowd, they got aggressive and verbally abused him for the remainder of the match.
Managing director of WP Rugby, Rob Wagner, has been made aware of the allegations and responded on Cape Talk with the following statement.
'I would like to make it quite clear that Newlands and WP Rugby will not tolerate racism of any kind.
'Our stadium rules specifically cover racism. Rule 11 states, “WP Rugby reserves the right to refuse admission to, or to eject from the ground, any person/s who in the reasonable opinion of WP Rugby, its servants or agents, makes or incites any form of racial abuse, chanting, gesturing or behaviour.”
'This is behaviour that cannot be tolerated and we will not tolerate it.'
Wagner said an investigation has been opened into the incident and should they be found guilty of racist behaviour, the perpetrators could face a ban from attending further matches at the stadium.
Email sent from fan to Cape Talk's Kieno Kammies:
My son took a friend to rugby on Saturday for his ( the friend ) first Newlands experience. They were surrounded by about 12 khaki-dressed supporters that seemed to be from the same club / following? All went well for the first ten minutes until one of the Springboks of colour erred on the field. That’s when the use of the K word started. For the first approx 5 times my son ignored the use of the K word (not Kieno) but could not hold his tongue for longer and asked them to please stop. For the next 60 min they were verbally abused by most of the khaki brigade which of course spoilt the experience for both of them. I have included some pics to show their response to my son's request. Pic one is my son ( curly hair ) and friend making selfie. Khaki brigade in background. Pic two and three is self-explanatory. I would love to find these guys. Would make my day. Eddie Burger.
