been a real issue in the nrl this year with andrew johns alleged comments to timana tahu almost seeing greg inglis leave RL. last night it happened again with a dragons player alleged to have used racist comments to a tigers player. in the old days what happened on the field stayed on the field. where does sledging of opponents stop? www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... 15rt3.html

been a real issue in the nrl this year with andrew johns alleged comments to timana tahu almost seeing greg inglis leave RL. last night it happened again with a dragons player alleged to have used racist comments to a tigers player. in the old days what happened on the field stayed on the field. where does sledging of opponents stop? www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... 15rt3.html

It comes back to individuals entirely.

The game of rugby league has a long and proud history of integration when it comes to people of all races, colours and creeds.

is the term that was used for someone of meditaranian background considered that offensive a term? I hear it used all the time here in Oz and very rarely as an insulting derogatory term, it appears to have the same level of insult as "pom".

/pom seem to be one level whilst critising someones skin is another level.

personally i think they should just take what is said on the field and if someone upsets you get them on the field

dont go to the refs or the media

The word used has a different meaning in England to what it does in Australia.

In England it's a serious racial slur against black people. Where as in Australia it's used as a term for people of Greek decent and is considered no worse than Pom.

I remember when I was last in Australia they we're talking about a film out over there called The W*g Boy and I was amazed that anyone would release a film called that.

I suppose it's just a cultural difference about the meaning but players sledging others on national, racial, religious or sexuality grounds should have no place in Rugby League.

The term ' coconut ' is commonly used in oz and nz for people from the south sea islands , I hadn't heard it used over here until a coach recently arrived here

more than just greek, pretty much the mediterranean and western europe.

yeah ive heard that one quite a bit.

"Coconut" is up there with "Uncle Tom" as one of the most offensive insults someone can say to a black person as it insinuates you're brown on the outside but white on the inside.

But it isn't used for Maori or African decent , only south sea island

All I can think of is the Major in Fawlty Towers talking about going to see India at the Oval...

that is alright then

So it's a-OK to call the English, 'Poms'?

If he had called him a Fat C*nt (should that be his most significant feature) would we be reading this type of story?

Is W*G not an abbreviation for "western originated gentleman"-It was a common term when I was growing up in Manchester.

Sounds like a good game all the same and more importantly

No. And the fact that racism was common when and where you were growing up doesn't make it acceptable. hth.

More generally, tbh, this seems to be less a discussion of racism in rugby league and more a discussion of racism in Australian society.

I don't think racism is a particularly big problem in pro sport in the UK. Amateurs is another matter, however.

If it was common that would tend to suggest it was acceptable surely

back to the question, is racism on the field acceptable?

should victims report it to refs or handle their own justice?

It can never be acceptable!!

Just read "The Slap" set in a mainly Greek community in Melbourne. Obviously I dont know accurate a portayal it is, but the level of casual racism is astonishing.

I've found the level of racism here staggering, especially to indigenous people. It's like the UK in the 60's and 70's. It's not a one way street though and I've also seen and heard alot of racism from other groups towards whites and other minorities. For such a multicultural place built on immigration it is a bit weird tbh.
Sport can and should be playing a part in reducing it so I would say zero tolerance is the way to go and the NRL should throw the book at any player maing a racist comment.

Racism is a major problem in Australia, never mind Rugby League. The place is miles behind the likes of the UK when it comes to this sort of thing.

Who says- You

They may be happy with what they have and dont necessarily want our standards

I certainly hope things have changed somewhat over the years.

I remember refereeing Tony Banham (RIP) when he played amateur in Hull. A scrum broke up with the front row trading punches and I clearly heard what an opposition player called Banham. Tony quite rightly went ballistic and I put myself in between him and the idiot. I calmed him down by telling him that he'd obviously misheard and the 2@ had called him a "fat bastad" (there was no denying that one). I then had a word with the idiot and suggested that it might be in his best interests to get himself subbed but he was having none of that. Ten minutes later I heard "aaaaaaarrrrrgggghhhh" from behind me, turned and saw an angelic-looking Banham, walking innocently away from a prone idiot, who was then taken to HRI to have his broken jaw wired up.

As neither I, nor anyone else saw the incident, there was nothing to report.

Only to imbeciles