I bumped into a man eating a pie, a meat pie - the Australian national dish (or is it the 'Lamington'?) - but it was too hot inside and he lurched backwards from it as he took a bite. As if that would help.

He had a beer in the other hand (10.18 am, as I recall) and it splashed down his shirt and across his flip-flops making them sticky for the rest of the day.

As he leapt away from his scolding pie sucking air in through the sides of his mouth he reversed into me.

"Strewth, mate, sorry!" he said quickly before noticing the Paddington Bear accreditation label we journalists wear around our necks so that security staff can single us out and deny us entry without valid reason.

"You a journo, mate?" he asked keenly, but politely. "Where from? South Africa!!"

"Mate, what's with Anndray Nel? Is he all there, mate? Seriously, the boys were wondering...what's he like at home?"

Nel had calmly pointed out a member of the crowd to a security guard the previous day for calling him a "kaffir boetie". The team's collective patience was rapidly running out and I'd heard the talk from back home in Jo'burg that administrators were discussing a team 'walk-off' if not a return home if it continued. It was all I was thinking about and the man with the pie was distracting me.

"Mate, can I ask you another question?" he said after we'd been chatting for three or four minutes. I was late but, despite myself, I was enjoying his company. He obviously hadn't had too much to drink (yet) and seemed like the better sort of Aussie 'lad'.

"What does that word actually mean, you know, the 'kafeere' word," he said, making a complete hash of the pronunciation.

He had an idea, of course, but wasn't certain. He struck me as the kind of guy who could be persuaded (with a couple of hundred dollars and half a dozen beers) to shout such a taunt towards the end of the day. Just for a laugh. He knew it was rude but had no idea of how rude.

I could have tried to explain it to him but there is no Australian equivalent. The country may have had a few sinister moments in its history but there was no apartheid. No secret burial grounds for torture victims and no hatred on the scale that existed in South Africa, despite the appalling treatment centuries ago of the Aboriginal population.

So the best way of educating the yobs and slobs who infect the majority of decent sports lovers amongst Australia's sporting crowds is to ask them, politely, not to make racist taunts. And them to remove them - forever - from the terraces.

If Cricket Australia are serious about their "Zero Tolerance" attitude towards racial abuse then they will do more to identify offenders and then issue life bans to them.

Nice article.. I dont think anyone shouts these taunts out of hate.... it is just the spur of the moment... be it anger or drunken fun... I am not for a moment trying to say it is correct though. It has more to do with the lack of knowledge of what it is like to be at the receiving end... Mr. Hayden... Being called names that are racially motivated is not the same as hanging skippy.. however what is the point... I donjt think he will understand anyway.

Since when has ignorance become an excuse? It's difficult to comprehend how someone living in the "first world" would not know why kaffir could be offensive, the ignornace of this spectator is perhaps a refelction of the insular and probably ignorant Australian society

I have read elsewhere that most of the remarks were made by ex pat South Africans... most aussies would never even have heard of those words, much less use them as taunts.
I get a bit tired of the nonsense written about this particularly from SA Journos.. To me it's a ploy to distract from the obvious shortcomings in their national side, as well as the inadequacy of their dud unimaginative, loud mouth captain... Stop carping and give it a break... The South Africans are duds and are looking for excuses...

As for Andre Nel.. a bit of litium would not go astray there

Why the need for tired old cliches? Meat pie in one hand, a beer in the other, thongs on the feet. And no Aussie male I know uses the term "Strewth mate". Maybe in Barry McKenzie films from the early '70's. And I can assure you that anyone in an Aussie crowd shouting out "kaffir boetie" would be as an unfamiliar with Sydney as the taxi driver you encountered. Capetown wouldn't pose a problem though. Good try Neil, but I don't believe you ran into any pie-eating, beer-swilling Aussie slob at all. He's as ficticous as your 'Aussie racists'...

Regards,
Matt

I agree, the reason that cricket Australia arent doing too much with the issue, is because they dont mind, the yobbos comming out and having a yell, because they are aussies and CA want as much aussies to attend as possible. The ridiculous thing is, aussies say its ex-pats from SAF who make the comments. Just ridiculous. Look at John Howard the PM, called Muralitharan a 'chucker'. What does he know about cricket to assume that, and commenting it publicly. If the PM is racist and naieve, the what is there to stop aussie crowds.

Exactly! If some "fans" are disturbing the players in such a fashion that the players begin to feel uncomfortable, then they must never be allowed to do so again. The punishment should fit the crime.

Dear Mr. Manthorp,

I am an Indian, living in Bangalore. Thanks for your brilliant article.

I agree that racism should not be tolerated; however, even Indians here are not shy of saying a few words to visiting cricketers, just to make a monkey of themselves. They do so with impunity, because it is always in the local language and no one understands. I guess only Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai are free from such crowds.

Well said Neil, its pretty sad actually. The yobo mentality in SOME sections of the crowd ruins it for everyone. Not just the K word, but a lot of the ‘real aussies” (or at least they like to think) in some sections of the crowd would shout out words such as Black C*nts to not only the Sri Lankan players but also the many Sri Lankan supporters, also keeping in mind that many families and children come to watch the cricket and it really disgusts me and saddens me to see the ugly side of Australian cricket. It’s also worrying to see teenagers and children cheering these uneducated fools on, insuring that the next generation will surely follow in the footsteps as many of them seem to idolize these drunken fools. Top marks to Ricky Ponting for his zero tolerance against racism, however it’s a bit hard when players like Darren Lehamn uses the same words as the drunken yobos? I mean these guys are supposed to be role models? He got 5 games for it yes, but the idea of saying such remarks is okay because our senior players do the same causes a lot more damage then a mere 5 game ban. As Neil said, most Aussies would not have the slightest clue about apartheid and how much deeper words such as the K word cuts. I am an Australian and we have been lucky to not have a history of such torment and hurt and racial division. Just because we have been lucky, let’s not be ignorant about it.

Maybe a good start would be to ban South Africans with Australian residency permits from the grounds - you dont need to be too bright to work out where this problem has its roots

I have to admit, i didnt know the severtity of the word 'kaffir' until i read Neil Manthorps article in an Austrailian paper.. After the 'tsunami' example, the seriousness of the racist comments hit me. As a Sri lankan, living in a mulicultural society i know how offensive such conmments can be..

Even though i agree with the article, banning offenders from grounds forever, how effective can this be?? Would the offenders be tracked so well, that they cannot turn up in another part of the country or another part of the world.. and do the same thing??

Booze fuelled aussie supporters (who have been banned) taunting opponent players, say at the world cup in West Indies???

Excellent article, no discussions for this one.

Well!! To introduce myself am an Indian currently in SA. We are playing the leagues here in Durban. Racist taunts on the field are quite common even at this level even more when they realise we are from India. South african players to put up such a holier than thou attitude in Australia kind of seems like the pot calling the kettle black at least in this instance. I hate racist taunts it gets my blood going and quite honestly i have laways replied with a boundary when i was batting. It surely has helped me to be honest. It is a thin line that divides a racist taunt and "field banter" as it is called these days. Why does the fielding team need to talk to the batting team? Anyway South Africans are using this new bogey against other teams maybe to intimidate them or siften them up. Whatever it is quite honestly its is Much Ado About Nothing. Move on in life .. yes South Africa has had a very violent history and race has played a very pre dominat role in that. People on the streets here are moving on and most of the people i have spoken to about the racist taunts have simply brished it aside and said move on. I prefer that the whole "banter" thing be taken up seriously rather than a erstwhile white nation maoaning about racist abuse.

I liked the article a lot. I am an Australian cricket lover and go to many games and i am also aggrieved at some supporters behaviour, noting that such fans are indeed a minority. The article was incorrect in a big way. The author shrugged of the treatment of indigenous australians and merely noted that such treatment happened "centuries ago". This is distinctly untrue, such events like the stolen generation are very recent, and need to be remembered, not simply swept under the rug as an event of the past.

What a lazy and infantile piece of 'commentary' from someone who should know better. Little wonder the South Africans were so wonderful at implementing the apartheid system when these kinds of generalised cultural slurs are broadcast. Still, I presume calling attention to buffoonery common in other parts of the world deflects some observation away from the dreadful cricket South Africa has played whilst in Australia.

A good article, but what makes the author so sure that there isn't an Australian equivalent to the word "Kaffir", given the CURRENT, systematic, mistreatment of the indigenous population. For example, the UN has called RACIST the mandatory sentencing laws in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, which have given black Australians an imprisonment rate at least as high as that of apartheid South Africa, and have been a primary cause of one of the highest suicide rates in the world, among young Aborigines.
Is this even an issue for white Australians? I'm afraid it isn't. How does this indifference tie in with recent crowd trouble at cricket matches? I don't know, but the author would do better to consider the realities of Australian life.

"If the PM is racist and naive, then what is there to stop the Aussie crowds?"

Jonston, you seem to define ANY criticism against a player of another race or country as racist. This is absurd. No one is above critism, and shouldn't be exempt from it because of their race. What Howard said may have tactless and ignorant, but certainly was not racist. I mean, the Barmy Army made up a song about Murali's action; are they racist too? Where does it end?

I think australia is the only country where racism is considerd as a "misunderstanding" .Look at the responses from the australians,most of them justify racist remarks as "odd guy who had too much to drink" or "we dont understand the meaning of that word".
It is high time you all wake up and admit that there is a serious problem in your country.Dont find excuses,try to find solutions

Visit any place in the world and you are bound to find someone with racist comments. Best thing to do would be move ON !!! let the sport thrive. 'Not a Racist country' there is nothing like this in todays world. Enjoy your cricket and let racist idiots make a fool of them selves.

Why is it that Australians in general can become such easy targets where racism is concerned? I attended the first days play at the WACA Test, and was aggrieved to find out about alleged racist taunts by fans against the South African players. I heard no such thing, although I'm not so naive as to think it didn't happen. There were a fair few South Africans sitting in our section of the Prindiville Stand who appeared to have a great day and had some light hearted, joyous banter with our extended group of staunch Aussies (and we duly reminded them of past indiscretions against Australia, Herschelle dropping the World Cup et al). But seriously, what ordinary everyday "Oz yob" has any grasp of the Afrikaans language? Playing cricket with a few South African boys at a suburban level, they are as competitive as Aussie players and have a laugh at being called a "saffa" or "yarpie" bastard, and return the favour with "convict" and "bloody Aussie bastards". But I have never heard any use, Aussie or not, of Afrikaan language sledging against South Africans. There is much more than meets the eye behind these alleged racist taunts; expat South Africans with a grudge against the political situation in their country (re: quota systems), or sections of the South African media looking for excuses for substandard play against their old foe in Australia?

I understand Mr Manthorp's disgust - racism should not be condoned or tolerated anywhere. But perhaps he should ask himself whether it is reasonable to expect widespread of South African racist language amongst Australian crowds. To turn the tables, if Jason Gillespie were to be called a "boong" in Johannesburg, would South African crowds recognise that as a deeply offensive racial slur against an Australian Aborigine? Would Mr Manthorp himself recognise it as such? If not, then perhaps he should reconsider his definition of offensive naivety.

A story of the hour. I've noticed racism is a card quickly played lately. While it does occur in Australia (as in all nations), the issue is considered serious by all right-minded Aussies, and more so by Australian authorities (cricketing and otherwise). Perhaps this perceived Australian naivety concerning the deadly seriousness with which this issue is regarded is to be envied. Some countries have made it a capital offence, and even unsubstantiated allegations are cause for fear. In such environments the burden of proof falls on the defendant, and usually falls with great impact. By highlighting the issue so forcefully, divisions are widened rather than reconciled. Ask Symonds and Gillespie if they have felt racially vilified in Australia. Australia is not a racist country, and refuses to accept upon itself the scars of other nations. Come here and see for yourself.

What a load of tripe. I am a taxi driver, but in Perth. I distinctly reme,ber picking up 4 guys who were pilots/stewards on South African Airways and the racist talk from them would make most people sick. Perth is full of yarpies who fled SA when it became majority rule and there, I think, you will find the yellers of racist taunts, not amongst Austraians. On your Bike Manthorp!

In the ideal world, there should be no racism. In the real world, there IS racism, and plenty of it. I doubt that any of the VB-guzzling, back-slapping Aussie mates in the stands meant any harm. I am, though, appalled by the South Africans sissies. For all the tough talk from their baby captain, they got their rear ends kicked royally and so now they want to walk out over some silly crowd remarks? Get real, and get on with it. Shut up, and put up.

"Look at the responses from the australians,most of them justify racist remarks as "odd guy who had too much to drink" or "we dont understand the meaning of that word".
It is high time you all wake up and admit that there is a serious problem in your country."

So, what are you implying Paniya? That it's actually the majority of the crowd that's racist, not just the odd drunk? And that it's more likely to be Aussies than ex-pat South Africans yelling out racist insults in Afrikaans? It's you who needs to wake up, not us. Australians know the truth of this situation, you only know what you read in articles written by agenda driven journalists...

Mr Manthrop's mention of the taxi-driver reminds me of arriving at Sydney Airport from Thailand in the early morning hours. I took the first cab off the rank, driven by a young man, saying "St Ives, please."
"Er, I'm not sure how to get there, sir."
In a good mood, having negotiated the ex-flight processes quickly, I said, "Not to worry, take me to the Harbour Bridge and I'll direct you from there."
"Where's the Harbour Bridge?"
He was an eighteen year old Greek, having arrived in Australia the night before and driving his father's taxi."

Excellent article, the facts have been laid down clearly and reasons for the way the Australians act were provided. Ignorance, is the main cause of such racist remarks made by sections of Aussie crowds. Sri Lankans,South Africans and other nations are target to such comments due to their darker skin, and no matter how drunk the initiator maybe it still goes a long way to hurt the victim. What would happen if the Sri Lankans and other Asian cricketing nations were to racially abuse the Aussies based on their colour?The Sri Lankans could joke around all day and point out the lack of melanin (an important pigment)as the cause of the lighter Aussie skin. But do they? No, because not only is it pointless,it is offensive.

I think a major issue everyone seems to be ignoring here is Freedom of Expression. Granted that hurling racist abuse at someone on a cricket field just because their skin is of a certain colour is infantile, tasteless and unwanted but think about the ramifications of taking drastic action against certain supporters such as ejecting them. Who decides what a 'racist' taunt exactly is? Is calling the English 'Poms' racist? Is criticising the Australia 'national dish' of 'meat pie' racist? If it is, then Ashes Test venues will certainly be a lot quieter in the future. Im afraid the only sensible, mature action to take is to simply discourage it and nothing else. Ask people to respect the players sensibilities and, basically, ask them not to shout racist abuse at them. You cant silence people just because you dont like what they say, regardless of how distasteful you find it. It's their right to say it. Just as it's your right to criticise them for saying it. The kind of people who shout racist comments anyway are the kind of people who, if they were banned from saying such things, would shout any insult they possibly could to cause the most offence. They only use racism as they know we're all so touchy about the subject. Those South African players CHOOSE to be offended by those words and therefore give them power. In a society where things such as racism are discussed and addressed properly without fear of Draconian recriminations logical, rational ideas/values will always win out in the end. In a free-thinking, democratic world, its the ONLY way.

Well of course no racist comments should be tolerated at all, but I think ignorance is probably the main reason why any of these comments are made at all. Australia has not had such a toublesome past as South Africa (yes, we have had racism, but it is largely forgotten amongst our public,) and most of the time people that say these things say it with no understanding at all of what it actually means, and is treated (sadly) as a joke. Anyone that says these things should be banned, but the notion that Australians as a whole turn a blind eye to such things with malicious intent perhaps comes about because of our general ignorance of the severity of such things. This ignorance is perhaps how racist remarks are seen as 'misunderstandings' or 'accidents' by the Australian public.

But of course, if Neil presumes that every Australian cricket fan goes about saying "strewth mate" while wearing thongs, eating meat pies and spilling beer down their fronts then it's little wonder that he sees so many racists.

This is a response to Shahid Iqbal.

It's true that Australian Aboriginies don't generally have as high a standard of living as white Australians. However, I think that has more to do with the attitudes of the Aboriginies than anything else. There is a lot of racism and even violence against white peole here, and a lot of them think that White law shouldn't apply to them; as such this leads to drud usage and delinquent behavior.

Now, I DO NOT mean to be racist here; I assume that the majority of Aboriginies are honest, contributing citizens. However, to say that there is an Apartheid system here is just ignorant.

I am not an Australian but have been to few cricket matches in SCG and MCG. I did hear the crowds taunting the opposition players with jibes and some derogatory remarks. But it did not seem to come out of hatred or racist intention. It was mainly just joining in "the fun with mates" or just too much beer or in most cases both. But I have to add, I am not from any international cricket playing nations, but if I were from the country against whose players those taunts were aimed at, I would feel a bit offended or could even consider those remarks as being racist in nature. I think limiting the amount of alcohol served to crowds is the best way to solve those problems.

For people like Ben - too easy mate, the players are adament it wasn't Saffas doing the insulting. The accent gives it away a bit.
I've been wondering about how Aussies could know the word "Kaffir" or "Kaffirboetie". I have personal experience of being called a "Kaffir" in Australia, though the usage was all wrong as I am very obviously a white (expat) South African. As one would imaging I wasn't going to ask the person who used the term.
This weekend I watched "The Power of One" , well known to many Australians as the first book by Bryce Courtenay. It contained all the words, including "Kaffirboetie".

So sad that people jump to conclusions.

Personally, I would think that a few expats may have prompted a few drunks and after it got the media coverage it was all too easy.

Having said all that, my opinion after living here for some time that this is the least racist country I have ever seen (and I've seen a good few). There are always a few yobs in any society and this certainly doesn't reflect society as a whole.

i have been to australia, nearly a decade ago, and lived there for a couple of years. i know these people more or less and i know that their sense of humor is a bit on the offensive side. it takes time to get used to their sense of humor.

i do remember the beating of an aborigine black australian by a white australian cop. that was the news of the year at the time in sydney.

being racist in the sense of good humor is fine, for me at least. i dont mind that but everything has a limit.

i do believe there may have been some racist taunts. it may be in the good sense of humor, maybe not. i dont want to be the judge or create any debate here. all i want to say is that if some thing gets out of limits, it should be corrected.

what is the limit? u ask. i dont know. i dont know how to measure the limits of such taunts. and as far as i can say, graeme smith is just trying to get back at the aussies for him and his team not performing well.

if u loose concentration because of some taunts, no matter how hurting it may be, u cant be called a professional. that is all i have to say.

Thank you for your response Marcus.

If I understand you correctly, extreme poverty is a life-style choice for aboriginies?? My freind, I considered only the FACTS: It is the United Nations, not me, who labelled the said policies RASCIST. That should be of major concern to you!

I consider myself a highly educated, worldly, Australian man, also a cricket fan.

While I have known a long time what "kaffir" means, I have never, ever heard the term "Kaffir boetie" before this furore.

I treat with the greatest incredulity that these taunts were made by the average racist Australian cricket fan.

Which isn't to say that some of the drunken idiots one sees particularly in one-day-games do not stoop to racist taunts. Only that on this occasion, they are not to blame.

Who cares what the crowds say? The players should concentrate on the game and not keep an ear open for what the crowds are saying. Some of us in India, especially in Bangalore, refer to such comments as the bark of a street dog (pye dog). When going on a walk on your street, you do not argue or bark back at the dog that barks at you. It barks because it is a dog. You bark back if you are a dog. Similarly, all those "people" in the stands who make these comments are dogs. I think the players and especially the media, should know better than to become dogs and bark back through complaints or articles like this one. Its different if someone throws something at you on the field. Thats a personal attack. Not a bark.

I guess it was the SA expats hurling abuse at the Sri Lankans in the Aus/SL game too. And abusing the Indian and Pakistani supporters on their tours during the last two years as well. And obviously the South Africans are only mentioning it because they lost the Test series (despite it first being brought to light before the first Test had even been decided).

And despite it only being the SA expats doing it, the fact that their doing it in Australia seems to have been pretty well tolerated is neither here nor there.

No, let's talk about what a loudmouth Graeme Smith is and how they lost the series instead, or pretend that Mr Manthorp never actually met an Australian eating a pie. These are the real issues here. Thanks to the Australians for pointing that out to us.

Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth...

What a whining bunch of crybabies to complain about crowds taunting the opposition at sporting events! I think the best solution to this alleged problem is to get an actor to scream "kaffir" endlessly at those who claim to be offended by this term until they realise its just a word. Don't they teach kids the chant "sticks & stones will break my bones" in South Africa? They could draw inspiration from the West Indians of the late 1970's & early 1980's, who were tremedously popular in Australia, tremendously successful, and copped far more extensive racial abuse than South Africans did on this tour, without the infantile whining. Any such whining will only increase the amount of taunting, and rightly so. No-one who lives in a country with the right of free speech has any right to prevent others offending them. The only racism that South Africans should be worried about stamping out is the affirmative racism which drives their best white players (and businessmen, other professionals etc.) out of their increasingly decrepit country.

Well well...once again the old Aussie memory loss has struck again..was it not Darren Lehmann who called a Sri Lankan player a black C****

If that is not racist then I don't know what is...

Charles

Australia multicultural? You're having a laugh.

Assimilate or p*** off back to where you come from.

Thats the Australian attitude.

It should be noted that the comments referred to have for the most part been attributed to South African expatriates, rather that Australian's. That's not to say that there is not a racist element in australia - there most certainly is and it is extremely disturbing. I agree that it is hypocrisy in the extreme for Australian's to accuse others of racism due to its appalling record regarding the Aboriginal people - Marcus, your views are so niave its difficult to believe that anyone truly continues blame the indigenous population of this country for their situation. Having said that, crowd behaviour in Australia is no worse or better than most other places. And those on the subcontinent should be the last people to be pointing the finger when it comes to the behaviour of spectators.

Come on Neil, if you are going to use fictional characters in your attempts to denigrate a nation, surely you could packed in a few more negative stereotypes than that.

So far as I can tell from my travels, racism exists in most corners of the world. It is a serious issue that needs to be eliminated.

Unfortunately, drivel such as this article do little for serious discussion of the topic.

Strewth Mate! What rubbish. One does not have to have a phd to ascertain the origins of the racist taunts towards South African players during this summer, the ex pat South African community in Australia generally have rather large chips off their shoulder.

Gavinda Jayasinghe states that "the facts have been laid down clearly" and "reasons for the way the Australians act have been provided". What a joke. There is absolutely no fact in Manthorp's article, only a reliance on a very tired cliche (the pie eating, beer swilling, thong wearing Aussie) and a manipulation of the ignorance of people such as Gavinda Jayasinghe.

My advice to Neil Manthorp would be to stop fabricating pathetic encounters with fictitious Australian cricket fans and to stop pedalling stereotypes aimed at exposing the ignorance of non-Australians. By doing so all he achieves is to reveal his anti-Australian agenda and his penchant for lazy journalism. Manthorp would be better off to start analysing the reasons why South Africa lost the test series 2-0 and were unable to qualify for the finals of the triangular one day series, and how best to avoid a similar result when Australia tours South Africa in the near future. But perhaps it makes better reading for people living in South Africa to read about Australia's perceived racist attitudes rather than contemplate the inadequacies of their own country's First XI.

Finally, a word on the blatant hypocrisy of Gavinda Jayasinghe. Firstly, he decries the "racist remarks made by sections of the Aussie crowd", but then goes on to imply that Australians are gentically inferior due to a deficiency of melanin, "an important pigment". This reeks of hypocrisy, Gavinda.

Pot. Kettle. Black.

Gavinda Jayasinghe - "We come from 2,500 years of culture and we all know where they come from,". Do you know who said that? Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga in a MEDIA CONFERENCE in reference to Australia's convict past.

Don't tell me that racism doesn't exist in Sri Lanka. It starts with your ex-captain.

Imagine if Ponting made reference to the West Indians' slavery heritage in a media conference?

"Racist" Australian cricket fans raised $14 million last year at the MCG for victims of the tsunami.

It's great to see that our support is being so gratefully received in Sri Lanka.

For those who don't know! the word Kaffir is Arabic for a Non Muslim and was originally given to the Africans by the Arabic traders down the East coast of Africa. The Africans were living in isolation and had not as yet been exposed to any form of religion. In essence the word is not at all racial but has a religious connotation. I, as a white Christian am therefore a Kaffir. The persons shouting those taunts are ill informed Fools and should be bannished from all public places.

I'm a 'paper Aussie' from India and
I've played for my local club for the last four seasons against many a club in what is perceived to be a working class part of Melbourne.

And NEVER, repeat, NEVER have I been subject to any abuse in any of the games, especially considering that my style of batting (the sticky, dead bat, boring variety) generally infuriates oppositions the most.

I've been asked many a time to 'get on with it', to 'have a go, you mug' but NEVER has the colour of my skin ever come into it.

I've also been at the MCG countless times and once (memorably when India defeated Oz in 2003) at the Adelaide oval, and racist abuse really came only from beer fuelled yobbos, usually towards the later part of the day. THis has usually been accompanied by stricken , apologetic stares from the less intoxicated neighbours of the accused.

I generally don't mind it too much-for-let's be totally honest here-and I speak about India where I've heard Delhi-ites say to me with a contemptuous frown-'Madrasi ho?' And the fairer of SOuth Indians refer to their darker brethren as 'Karuppu koo...'And all this when they are stone cold sober too.

And all Indian men want a fair skinned bride.

So, scratch the surface, and there is racism, or to use an Indian euphemism, 'colour consciousness' in us all.

Considering all this, I am actually surprised that the Aussie crowds are as restrained as they usually are.

I find all of the fuss about racist Aussies absolutely ridiculous. I have been to test matches in 4 other countries (other than Australia) in the last 4-5 years, and 1 thing that is as common as a red ball being used is the 'sledging' that the touring party receives from the home crowd. In the world over this varies from the humorous to the incredibly rude and racist. This is only being made into such a story because it involves the Australians. Test match cricket players are supposed to be extremely mentally tough. If they can't stand a bit of verballing from a fool or two in the stands, maybe they should go back to grade cricket.

Some Aussies are so arrogant that it's caused blindness as well as stupidity! So many of you deny that there are any racial problems in your country - but look at what you guys did to the Aboriginal people in the past. You guys are far from perfect!

Instead of claiming there isn't a problem, or blaming it on a few people in the crowd, why don't the rest of you be proactive and tell the trouble makers in the crowd to shut their mouths? If the supporters around the stupid individuals take a dim view, chances are these guys wouldn't feel encouraged to hurl abuse at players. Instead you all sit around trying to either deny or justify what can only be described as unacceptable behaviour. If I were watching a game at the Wanderers in JHB and some idiot was shouting out things that were really unacceptable to player - I'd turn around and tell him to shut his mouth or at least call someone with the security company and have him warned. But some Australians find it too easy to just try and swwe it under the rug, rolling their eyes and getting upset by a little sterotype that Neil Manthorp described.

Australia are playing amazing cricket and did whip SA, I'm South African and admit this because it's true. But to say that we're crying over these remarks as an excuse to divert attention from the fact that we lost is...well probably the stupidist thing I have ever heard.

I laughed after I read some of the above comments for a second time. Some Aussie readers got really upset with Neil Manthorp for describing an individual with a meat pie and one hand and a beer in the other...if you're upset with a tiny comment like that, be it a generalization or the truth, imagine the damage some of your moronic supporters cause to a player when the abuse is RACIAL! You bunch of sissies!

Hi, This is too much to generalize that all aussies are racist. I was working in GOld coast and moving some of the job to India, even then there was no hatred. We all enjoyed work, played table tennis and in gold coast beach also we were all playing cricket together with guys helping me out everywhere possible.
So do not make exceptions as normal.

Ok, it seems that everyone on this site feels that they, and their nation is completely without blame in this discussion. "Yeah, Australian supporters are the ONLY ones who ever do anything bad at games." /sarcasm

I've watched cricket series in Australia, UK, South Africa, NZ and West Indies. All these nations and supporters have shown me bad aspects of their supporter base (except the WIndies, pure hospitality). Kiwi's throw bottles at the players on the ground, Poms wanna fight you outside the ground, Saffas just threaten to shoot you and hide your body. Like it or not, accept it or not, every country has these supporters.

I'm not trying to say that Aussies are blameless, 'cause we're not! I know for a fact that we are pretty tough on visiting teams (in AFL footy and Rugby against other Aussie teams), and there is a group (not sure if you can consider it a majority) who are racist, but I love my cricket and love supporting my team hard, but fair.

If you want to paint the whole nation as racists (including me), fine, but you are just as racist, except you hide behind a politically correct veil.

And, what ever happened to the old saying my grandparents drilled into me: "sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me"?

Firstly, I am a South African. Our cricket team was thouroughly beaten in Australia and I will offer no excuses to that end. I'll admit this on behalf of the entire country: we just weren't good enough.

That being said, I am, however, disgusted by not only the racial slurs, but by the attitude of some of the Australians who have posted comments on this board.

One must understand that outrage by the South Africans at the racial slurs were not an excuse for their poor performance, but a reaction to a rusty knife plunged into old wound.

For those who don't know, South Africa has only recently broken the shackles that enslaved our nation. Memories of a dark and distant past will haunt most of the people here, but by and large it is something that we care not to remember.

So when someone in the crowd hurls a racial slur at a South African cricket, you are not just insulting the player. You insult the children that look up him as a role model, the country he represents, and everything that he and his country has fought for in the past.

I must stress that I do not see Australia as a racist country. But, one has to accept the fact that something was said. I doesn't matter what was said, or who said it.
This is a problem and it must be dealt with.

I am not a South African neither an Aussie.I am from India and I have been supporting the RSA team for the past many years and it has deeply hurt me to see the RSA players being abused racially by some sections of the Aussie crowds.Freedom of expression does not mean you have the right to racially abuse anyone or just abuse anyone without merit.We all know the horrific treatment of the indigenous Australians i.e.the stolen generation,etc.The fact that they are at the lower rung of the Auissie society and the "passive" discrimination against them even now proves that.The SAF's played badly in the ODI's ,no doubt, and they need to be criticized for that ,but criticism should be restricted to what they did on the field and their on field performance,not racial taunts.What it shows is there is a racist underbelly in the Aussie Society, a xenophobia which is growing.That is sad.Australia is a developed country with a lot of oppurtunities, and my relatives who are well settled there will vouch for that,but evidences of the recent past have shown that there is this hatred of the "other" among "white" Aussies and some sections of the Aussie people are showing that on the cricket field which is unfortunate.Racism is a menace and will severely scar the lovely sport of cricket if it continues unabated,and Australia being the leading cricket side,must take severe action.Just the fact that RSA has had ahistory of discrimination imposed by the whites on blacks does not mean that anyone can racially abuse the SAF players.

Mr. Manthorp

You are right of course. Ignorance is no excuse for abuse, especially if you have just some idea of what an insult means.

But all the same, you really must pardon the man in your article; I'm sure he had a long, hard day of shearing sheep and wrestling crocodiles.

As a dark-skinned person living in Australia, I live with racist taunts from Aussies frequently, and the 'k' word is used constantly (by true blue Aussies). So please don't excuse the fact that Aussies are racist. Just ask the indigenous people if you need any confirmation.

The word in question literally means 'non-believer'. Of course most South African's don't even know that, as it is always applied in a racial context.

The late Hansie Cronje also had a distrust for Manthorp but then perhaps he had sufficient cause to be wary...

I think Lee has brought a sensible, balanced view of things into this whole discussion. While South African imports may be part of what's going on, it doesn't take a great deal of local knowledge to know that calling someone a black c**t is offfensive in the worst possible way. The problem is the grey area in between, with words like 'pom' and darkie. Increase of awareness, clarity of policy and in the worst cases, swift action and removal from the grounds of these obvious offenders is the only way forward. The authorites should reserve and exercise the right to judge what is banter and what is racism.

response to Marcus,

I believe that Shahid Iqbal's point was not that there is an apartheid system apparent in Aus, but that the system isn't helping Aboriginies lead healthy lives (after isolating the youth from the elders hence killing off the natural transfer of culture, which led to disenfranchisement, prolonged misunderstandings, and alcoholism and drug use pervasive in said youth). To not investigate THAT would be what is ignorant.

Just to quickly point out that I believe the fella was asking of Andre Nel because of his idiotic staredowns and mental patient like facial expressions.
Cheers.

What a load of garbage! If South Africa wish to forego any further trips to Australia to cover their inadequacies - fine. Who really cares?

"Instead of claiming there isn't a problem, or blaming it on a few people in the crowd, why don't the rest of you be proactive and tell the trouble makers in the crowd to shut their mouths?"

You want to know why we don't Jason? Because it doesn't happen!! I sit in the crowd year after year at the SCG, and I have never heard or seen any form of racism from the crowds around me. But because Neil Manthorp, in an obviously fictitious article, says that we are all ignorant racists, that's good enough for you to vent your spleen. And it's not that we are angry or upset at Manthorp's cliched porkies, but if he needs to embellish his article with lies like that, why do you presume the rest of the article has any merit? Because you want it to, that's why. People like Neil Manthorp are preaching to the converted, and no matter what you read here to the contrary, even from non-Australians, it won't sway you or others from what you want to believe. And what unbelievable hypocrisy, to hear a South African insulting Australians because of our history with the Aboriginals. Where was your team throughout the '70's & '80's?