AFL boss Andrew Dillon has joined Hawthorn Football Club in condemning “vile and appalling” online racial abuse of forward Mabior Chol following the Hawks’ loss to the Western Bulldogs on Friday night.
The big forward reposted the social media abuse on his Instagram account after the game, saying “you can talk shit all you want, but don’t be like this guy”.
If police can identify the offender, who goes by the name Carlos and uses the handle @jyer419, he faces potential criminal charges.
In the country’s first online racial vilification case involving an AFL player, a 32-year-old Glenroy man, Ethan Quinn, fronted Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 29 May, on a charge of using a carriage service to harass.
His lawyer told the court Quinn was not ready to resolve or finalise the matter, and asked it be adjourned to a further date.
Quinn is next due to appear before a magistrate in September.
It is alleged he made online threats against Port Adelaide player Jase Burgoyne and his family on July 13 last year.
Hawthorn CEO Ash Klein released a statement on Saturday morning in support of Chol, saying “We commend Mabior’s courage in calling this out and we stand with him”.
“Useless fat dog your a lazy little maggot,” a screenshot of the abuse showed.
The messages that followed were racist and obscene.
A forthright Klein said the abuse was not acceptable, and there was “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,” Klein said.
“Our immediate focus is on wrapping our arms around and supporting Mabior.”
The AFL integrity unit is working with Hawthorn on the matter.
“Racism has no place anywhere, anytime – not in our game, not in the community and not online,” Dillon said in a statement.
“Mabior’s courage to call this out should be commended, and our immediate focus is supporting him and the Hawthorn Football Club.”
In a separate incident on Friday night, Bulldog defender Michael Sellwood revealed he was abused over the fence by a Hawthorn supporter after his side’s thrilling six-point victory at the MCG.
Sellwood, who had several fiery encounters with opponent Nick Watson during the match, was running along the boundary line after the game high-fiving Bulldog fans when he stopped abruptly to exchange words with a person in the crowd.
“I’m not going to repeat what he said,” Sellwood told Channel 7.
“I wasn’t happy with it, but he cowered a bit pretty quickly.”
Sellwood said the fan called him a “weak something” so he pointed him out to security guards.
It followed Chris Scott’s call for coaches not to have to walk through the crowd after an incident at three-quarter-time of Geelong’s nail-biting loss to the Crows on Thursday night.
Scott spoke with Adelaide Oval security at three-quarter time after he appeared to be abused by fans at Adelaide Oval as he walked out to the Cats’ huddle.
“They’re nuffies, but that’s OK,” Scott said after the game.
“This is one of the best stadiums in the world – I love it – [but] no, it’s an oversight that the coaches should have to walk through the crowd. I don’t want to do it at any ground,” he said.
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