- South Sydney supporters hurled abuse
- He is now being investigated by the NRL Integrity Unit.
- Fan on the hill details how serious the abuse was
A football fan who was on the hill at Kogarah Oval when racist abuse was allegedly hurled at South Sydney players has spoken out about the damaging impacts it had on all Indigenous players and fans.
The NRL Integrity Unit is investigating allegations of racist abuse directed at South Sydney Indigenous players Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker during the club’s recent loss to St George Illawarra.
The match was played at the suburban Kogarah ground and the alleged abuse came from spectators on the hill.
Some fans reportedly called Mitchell a “black whiner” and a “black bastard,” while Walker was labeled a “dirty dog.”
news corporation Journalist Tyson Jackson was standing on the hill with his friends at the game and heard the horrific abuse directed at the South stars.
South Sydney Rabbitohs Indigenous stars Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell allegedly suffered racial abuse from their own fans on Saturday.
What made the torrent of abuse harder to bear was the fact that he was there with an indigenous companion.
“Before we kicked the ball, one of the first comments was disgustingly derogatory,” he wrote.
“What was most shocking was that it provoked raucous laughter and applause from a group of so-called fans surrounding the man who did it.
‘To make matters worse, next to me was one of my companions, a proud indigenous man. We looked at him, trying to gauge how uncomfortable he felt in that situation.
“He was instantly upset. He was very intimidated by the number of people around us who were joining in with the racist “jokes.” That’s right.
Jackson wrote that the abuse also did not come from Dragons fans, but from South Sydney fans themselves.
“Looking back to see where these comments came from, we were stunned to see fans wearing Rabbitohs t-shirts and scarves, joining in the abuse hurled at their own players by some Dragons supporters,” he wrote.
‘As the game progressed, more racial slurs poured out of the mouths of the spectators on the hill.
‘We had a discussion among our group about whether we would respond to the abuse the players were suffering.
‘My partner, who was already visibly upset, told us not to bother. “It won’t be good for us,” he said.
Mitchell had just returned from a three-game suspension but was unable to lift the Souths.
Cody Walker is fighting for a place in the New South Wales State of Origin team, but he is fighting to turn Souths’ fortunes around.
South Sydney on Monday made sure to support its players, who are not believed to have heard the alleged taunts.
“The Rabbitohs were informed of the incident by a member of the public and the NRL,” Souths said in a statement.
“The Rabbitohs condemn any form of racism in our sport and wider society, and will support the NRL investigation in any way possible.”
This is far from the first time Mitchell has been the target of racial attacks.
A teenager received a formal warning from NSW Police and a ban from the NRL last year for abusing the star defender as he walked off the field at Penrith.
Mitchell has frequently called out racism on social media and has recently been the subject of loud boos from fans at games.
The alleged abuse by Walker, also a spokesperson on Indigenous affairs, occurred in the NRL’s historic 200th five-eighth game.
The Dragons confirmed they were also investigating the matter, after being informed of the allegations by the NRL on Monday morning.
