Pretoria - What was meant to be a competitive rugby match between two high schools turned out to be a racial spat between the players and their parents last week.
The host, Afrikaans-medium Erasmus High School in Bronkhorstspruit is accused of instigating violence during a rugby match against Zayo Academy, which predominantly has black pupils.
It is reported that parents and supporters of Erasmus allegedly broke through the barricade next to the field in anger to confront the referee.
But the matter was resolved and the game was concluded, with Zayo claiming victory.
However, after the game while the players were shaking hands after the action, one of the players from Erasmus allegedly punched one of his opponents and chaos ensued.
In some of the statements from the alleged victims from Zayo, seen by Pretoria News, parents and players from Erasmus started slapping the players from the opposing team, referring to them by the K-word.
In a statement, Zayo Academy principal Catharine van Tonder stated: “Due to the Erasmus parents feeling that the referee was not fair by awarding a try in the last three minutes of the game, they stormed the field.
“They stormed the referee, swearing and arguing with him. An altercation between Erasmus parents and Zayo ensued where a father from Erasmus assaulted a Zayo player,” Van Tonder said.
She said that she was “disgusted” and “ashamed” to be associated with the “white race”.
“How can white parents treat players of colour the way they did? We live in a democratic country where everyone is supposed to be equal.
In another statement, the father of one of the Zayo players, a colonel in the SA National Defence Force, said: “I find it disturbing and disappointing that we still need to deal with racism in 2023. The parents, players and school personnel at Erasmus displayed a shocking image against Zayo Academy, a predominantly black and coloured team”. He added that it was a disgrace and unacceptable that parents or learners use the K-word.
A Zayo learners accused a pupil and a parent from the opposing school of calling him derogatory names.
“When we had to shake hands after the game, fists started flying. The boy who plays for the Erasmus team was attempting to break my middle finger. It was so sore I thought it was broken. Another player came running and started kicking me in my lower back.
“They stepped on my left foot using their rugby boots as weapons while they continued calling us K*****s,” the player said.
The Pretoria News has seen two more statement of a similar type from learners of Zayo Academy.
Efforts to reach Eramus headmaster Etien Rossouw were unsuccessful.
However, it was reported that Rossouw also blamed parents from Erasmus, saying that they ran onto the field and caused chaos.
On Friday, the EFF picketed against racism at Erasmus High School. The party vowed to protest again today.
Pretoria News