SOUTH AFRICA HOOKER Bongi Mbonambi has accused England of being “unprofessional” over allegations that he racially abused Tom Curry during last month’s Rugby World Cup semi-final.
World Rugby found “insufficient evidence” to back up Curry’s claim that he was called a “white c***” by the Springboks player midway through the first half of the match in Paris.
Mbonambi said the “misunderstanding” arose because Curry failed to realise he was speaking Afrikaans, a common practice among the Springboks to ensure opponents do not understand their messages.
He told BBC Sport Africa: “I think it is a very sad thing when you live in a first world country (England), you think the rest of the world speaks English.
“It was unprofessional on their part. They could have gone on a website and looked for an English dictionary and looked for the word in Afrikaans.
“People understood (in South Africa), but obviously their side was misunderstood.”
World Rugby stressed that Curry made the allegation in good faith and added there was no suggestion that it was “deliberately false or malicious”.
Both players have been subjected to online abuse since the alleged incident, with Curry’s club, Sale Sharks, saying they were “disgusted” by some of the criticism aimed at Curry.
I have a friend who is Afrikaans and says from what he could hear it sounds more like the English use. The only one coking across as unprofessional here is Mbonambi and his trolling of Curry and England. Just move on christ!
@SPQH: coming not coking…!
@SPQH: it’s a bit rich a white guy complaining about racist abuse isn’t it? I can’t imagine many doors stay closed to white rugby players in England because of the colour of their skin. He was probably referring to the colour of the jersey anyway
@Mark O’Keeffe: some racism is good then Mark?
@mainmsam: not good, but I don’t think as a white guy in a majority white country I’d be offended by being called white. There’s no power imbalance there. Maybe there’s something in TC’s history I don’t know about that makes it sensitive for him?
I can imagine the outrage if Curry had responded in kind. Not too long ago Kolisi was moaning about lack of respect from the referee.
Why is curry going to the ref to complain about being called anything??.. Ffs …he hurt my feelings?? Should have been settled in a scrum right after the alleged incident…
@Stuart: I agree with you Stuart. Asking the ref what should he do etc came across as incredibly silly. Suck it up and get on with it. Would be pretty sure that there’s a lot said between opposition players.
@Stuart: if it was the other way round there would have been serious meltdown out side the pitch and likely many trying to get him cancelled and unemployable
@Stuart: Curry might have misunderstood what was said… but players should not be afraid to report / stand up to abuse of any kind… ever. If you make a mistake, apologise afterward but we do not want players settling anything in a scrum / ruck / tackle after any incident thank you very much.
@Paul Ennis: that’s the problem with 2023, too many leftist liberal softies… If you dont agree or want to just say, go f yourself, you are speaking shi&£ .. It’s a big problem.. Belive me, scrums are the perfect place to settle differences…
@Stuart: I am not commenting on what was said because I wasn’t there. However in general a man or woman should not denigrate another human being s skin colour. Certainly being referred to as a black whatever is worse because of the oppression that black people have experienced. However being called a white whatever is still not acceptable and should not be tolerated.
@Diarmuid O’Rourke: A man or woman should not denigrate another human being… FULL STOP. Racism is a shocking form of abuse, but it does not make another type of abuse OK.
@Stuart: Now you sound like Boris Johnson. I like living in 2023… maybe you would prefer to live in 1923? The last 100 years of history have been littered with people who believe that you can sort out your difference through violence. There are a number of your fellow countrymen who I can point to who decided to use peaceful protest to create positive liberal change (some of them were even socialists). Abuse of any kind – verbal, physical, emotional, psychological – should not be tolerated. That’s not leftist, centrist, rightist or wrongist – it is just humanist
@Stuart: Oh and for the record, I don’t believe Mbonambi. Am I right in thinking Wenkant translates to “Winning Side”? In what context do those words come out naturally during a game that you are losing? He also directed the words to Tom Curry. He should own his mistake – now that would be a true leftist liberal softy!!!
@Paul Ennis: who said other types of abuse is OK.
@Stuart: yep.. Tattle tale just wanting to stir the pot.. Man up!
@Paul Ennis: jeez take chill pill… Bongi said wit kant which means white side… Could have reffered to the ball being on the white side (England).. In SA we do not use the word C…., we use a different word for that.. Makes no sense a South African would ever use that word… I know I don’t condone violence or racism… Curry should have sorted out any differences with the player directly instead of childishly going to the ref… This is really a non story..
@Stuart: I agree that it is probably a non story but thats the only thing I agree with. Bongi stirred it up with a jersey emblazoned with Wenkant and you say he said Wit Kant. It’s all a little sus. Just because a word is not used traditionally doesn’t mean a player cannot import it into his language. My objection is your call to “sort it out in the next scrum”. There cannot be any room for vigilante players and any players that resort to it should get yellow or red card depending on their actions. The only source of justice on the field is the referee.
So is he a white c&@t or not? I just put it in the dictionary and it translates as white c&@t