The AFL and the Hawthorn Football Club have strongly condemned the “vile and appalling” racial abuse directed at player Mabior Chol through a series of direct messages on social media. Chol, a forward of South Sudanese heritage, posted a screenshot of the offensive comments he received following his team’s defeat to the Western Bulldogs on Friday night. The language used in the messages was deemed unfit for publication.
“You can talk shit all you want but don’t be like this guy,” Chol wrote in his Instagram caption, calling out the abuser.
Chol kicked an equal game-high three goals for Hawthorn in their 12.5 (77) to 9.17 (71) loss at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The 29-year-old, who previously played for Gold Coast and Richmond, has been the target of racist abuse multiple times throughout his decade-long AFL career.
On Saturday, the club and the AFL integrity unit confirmed they are collaborating to investigate the latest incident. If identified, the perpetrator faces a ban from attending AFL matches.
AFL Chief Executive Andrew Dillon condemned the messages, stating: “Racism has no place anywhere, anytime – not in our game, not in the community and not online. Players, or anyone, should never be subjected to this sort of abuse. To be clear, if you think this behaviour is acceptable, then you are not welcome in our game. Mabior’s courage to call this out should be commended, and our immediate focus is supporting him and the Hawthorn Football Club.”
Hawthorn Chief Executive Ash Klein echoed these sentiments, saying such behaviour is “simply not acceptable” and that the club is fully supporting Chol. “There is no place for racism in our game and in our society. If you are the sort of person who thinks it’s OK to make a comment or send a message like this, we don’t want you as part of our game. We commend Mabior’s courage in calling this out and we stand with him. Our immediate focus is on wrapping our arms around and supporting Mabior,” Klein said in a statement.
