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The embattled Penrith Panthers are demanding Canberra ban a supporter who racially abused former Kiwis second-rower Tony Puletua before their clash on Friday night.
The man was cautioned after abusing Puletua and other Polynesian teammates during the pre-match warm-ups at Canberra Stadium, with the Panthers wanting a ban extending to all NRL matches for the rest of the season.
"We were warming up and this bloke started mouthing off, calling players black c**** and all that sort of thing," Penrith captain Craig Gower told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.
"You pay your money to say what you like but this was just uncalled for. A few of the other Polynesian and Aboriginal players were around and, as you can imagine, they weren't too impressed. "I said to Tony, 'Don't worry about it, he's saying it from 20 metres away. He hasn't got the balls to come over and say it here. That shows you the quality of the person. Unfortunately, you get idiots like that."
The fan and a friend were cautioned by security but returned to the area behind the Panthers' bench with about seven minutes left in the game and resumed the verbal barrage.
"The league has a system for this sort of thing where they photograph offenders, eject them and they aren't allowed back," Penrith general manager Mick Leary said.
NRL chief operating officer Graham Annesley said he would investigate the situation today after taking a report from Canberra.
The Raiders won 34-30.
- NZPA
