Eyewitness reveals new details on alleged racist abuse of Souths stars (2024)

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A footy 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 looking into accusations of racist insults aimed at Indigenous South Sydney players Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walkerduring the club's recent loss to St. George Illawarra.

The match was played at suburban groundKogarah with the alleged abuse coming from spectators on the hill.

Some fans reportedly called Mitchell a 'black whinger' and 'black bastard,' while Walker was labeled a 'dirty dog.'

News Corp journalistTyson Jackson was standing on the hill with his friends at the match and heard the awful abuse being levelled at the Souths stars.

What made the torrent of abuse harder to take was the fact he was standing there with an Indigenous mate.

'Before a ball had even been kicked, one of the first remarks was so disgustingly derogatory,' he wrote.

'What was more shocking was that it prompted raucous laughter and cheers from a group of so-called fans who were surrounding the man who made it.

'To make matters worse, standing beside me was one of my mates, a proud Indigenous man. We looked at him, trying to gauge how uncomfortable he was made to feel in the situation.

'He was instantly upset. He was heavily intimidated by the number of people around us who were joining in on the racist 'jokes'. And rightfully so.'

Jackson wrote that the abuse was not coming from Dragons supporters either, it was from South Sydney's own fans.

'Looking back to see where these comments were coming, we were stunned as we saw fans wearing Rabbitohs jerseys and scarfs, joining in on the abuse hurled towards their own players from some Dragons supporters,' he wrote.

'As the game progressed, more racial slurs poured from the mouths of spectators on the hill.

'We had a discussion between our group about whether we would respond to the abuse the players were copping.

'My mate, who was already visibly upset, told us not to bother. 'It won't be good for us,' he said.'

South Sydney made a point on Monday of standing by their players, who are not believed to have heard the alleged taunts.

'The Rabbitohs were informed of the incident by a member of the public as well as the NRL,' Souths said in a statement.

'The Rabbitohs stand in condemnation of any form of racism in our sport, and society in general, and will support the NRL's investigation in any way possible.'

It is far from the first time Mitchell has been racially targeted.

A teenager received a formal warning from NSW Police and a ban from the NRL last year for abusing the star fullback as he walked off the field at Penrith.

Mitchell has frequently called out racism on social media, and has recently been subjected to extensive boos from fans at matches.

The alleged abuse of Walker, also a vocal spokesman on Indigenous matters, came in the five-eighth's landmark 200th NRL game.

The Dragons confirmed they were also looking into the matter, after being informed of the allegations by the NRL on Monday morning.

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