The rugby personality who labelled Springbok wing Makazole Mapimpi as a ‘thug’ has been accused of racism.
The Sharks travelled to Wales for their United Rugby Championship game with Cardiff and it was a heated contest.
One of the biggest incidents from that game was Mapimpi’s showdown with Cardiff hooker Efan Daniel.
WHY MAPIMPI WAS LABELLED A THUG
The incident, which took place after the referee’s whistle had gone to indicate for a penalty for the home side.
Daniel took the penalty quickly and hacked the ball forward, but Mapimpi read the play and tackled him. The hooker didn’t take kindly to the hit and soon the two of them were shoving each other around before Daniel stripped Mapimpi of his jersey.
Both players then continued to grab at each other’s faces. But it’s only Mapimpi who now stands accused of eye gouging despite replays clearly showing Daniel doing the same thing.
A clipped video of incident is now doing the rounds on social media, highlighting Mapimpi’s action and it has caused a fierce debate.
But it was rugby journalist and prominent video content creator, Andrew Force’s take on the incident that irked some fans the most.
Writing on X, Forde explicitly labelled Mapimpi as one of the biggest thugs in rugby.
“Makazole Mapimpi could be one of rugby’s biggest thugs for that alleged eye gouge on Efan Daniel…”
WHERE THE RACISM ACCUSATION COME IN
Some supporters, mostly South Africans backing Mapimpi, have reacted angrily to Forde take, particularly the bit where he branded the Springbok a ‘thug’.
@Dubanond replied: Just say the word u want to say instead of thug. U know u wanna say [redacted n-word], just say it and il say with u. Idiot.
He added: “The irony is you don’t even see what is it that is wrong in ur post. It’s innate that u think it’s normal.”
Another social media user, @Kevin7worldwide, went a step further to explain Forde’s ill-worded post could be seen as racist.
“Eben has had more than 10 of exactly the same scuffles, yet you never used the word ‘thug’ to describe him. You can’t tell me you didn’t know how it’d sound coming from a person of your skin colour.”
@lmd_3212 simply wrote: “He’s such a thug that he’s received zero ban. If you come at the king, you best not miss… you racist” fuckwit.”
Another said: “‘Thug’ is most definitely a dog whistle. Plenty of ways to admonish him but you chose that one…”
@justinfall0021 wrote: “Just say [redacted n-word] bro… cause there’s been many fights in Rugby and this is the first time I’ve ever heard of the word thug used to describe a player lol.”
“Calling a black men a thug has a different connotation than calling a white men a thug. You wouldn’t know that because you can actually be ignorant cause you’d never be able to empathize with black people.”
@Ryan20192023 added his two cents: “Scratch a European rugby fan a racist bleeds. Always quick to reveal themselves.”
@BongaDlulane said: “Thug? The racism.”
@Temptingtony__ wrote: “Racism is so interesting to me. It’s so precise every single time.”
South African @AndrewMort18 perfectly explain why Forde’s take could be construed as racism.
“So a white hooker has his hand in a black man’s face and you are saying nothing…. Then you say a black man is off the streets when he is doing the same thing… Take a long hard look at yourself before you start calling people morons when they actually understand racism…”
“This kind of racism is very specific,” said @melisandeeee.
Another South Africa, @dylanvdspuy14 added: “You call him a gentleman yet he’s here making wild comments saying ‘one of rugby’s biggest thugs’. Get in the bin lad. Should his reaction be condoned. Definitely not. However that reaction doesn’t just happen and Efan obviously instigated it.”
To his credit, Forde did respond to the racism allegations on X, saying Mapimpi is ‘obviously not the biggest thug‘ and that he should have worded his post better.
IS MAKAZOLE MAPIMPI A VICTIM OF RACIAL PROFILING?
Let us know by clicking on the comment tab below this article or by emailing info@thesouthafrican.com or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
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Src: TheSouthAfrican.com - https://rugga.co.za/makazole-mapimpi/makazole-mapimpi-caught-in-middle-of-racism-row/