Collingwood cancels fan's membership for racist abuse after complaint by Dale Thomas

A COLLINGWOOD fan has had his membership cancelled after Dale Thomas reported racial abuse of Gold Coast midfielder Joel Wilkinson during the MCG clash on Sunday.

Dale Thomas

RACIALLY vilified Gold Coast player Joel Wilkinson has praised Collingwood star Dale Thomas for taking a stand against racism.

Wilkinson praised Thomas and the Collingwood supporters who came forward to support his claim.

"I was shocked when the incident took place and it was extremely upsetting at the time, but the actions of Dale Thomas and a number of Collingwood supporters in the area certainly demonstrate that the overwhelming majority of society finds this behaviour to be unacceptable,'' he said.

"I hope standing up and raising awareness of this issue goes a long way to ensuring that no other player or spectator will be vilified at sporting events or in society in the future.''

The Suns lodged an official complaint with the AFL on Monday after Wilkinson told them he had been racially vilified by a fan late in Sunday's 97-point loss to the Magpies.

Thomas, who was playing on Wilkinson at the time, reported the incident immediately after the match at the MCG on Sunday.

His claims were backed up by a number of calls and emails from Collingwood supporters who complained to the club about the same fan and supplied details of his seat number at the ground.

As a result the Pies were able to identify the man, who admitted responsibility.

The footy fan said he was deeply "embarrassed and remorseful'' for his actions, the club has claimed.

His membership was immediately cancelled, but the culprit will still be able to attend matches after the AFL stopped short of enforcing a total ban.

AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said the league would like to have banned the spectator from attending matches, but any such suspension would have been impossible to enforce.

The supporter - a Collingwood member of more than 20 years - met with footy chiefs today.

The club refused to identify the spectator after he agreed to apologise.

"His name is irrelevant,'' club chief Gary Pert said.

"What's important is that these comments were made and instantly everybody around this person - the players, both clubs, the entire industry - rejected that and has held that person accountable.''

Pert said Thomas had offered his immediate support to Wilkinson.

"He was disgusted by the sledging and made it clear to Wilkinson that if he wanted to take it further he would support him,'' Pert said.

"That was made easier because of the supporters in the area who were equally disgusted.

"They followed it up with security and police at the game and then afterwards - in numbers I haven't experienced for any other incident - wrote emails, letters and made phone calls advising the club and saying they would like action taken.''

Pert said tracking the culprit was made easier because witnesses reported exactly where he was sitting.

Anderson commended both players for making a stand.

"What is also incredibly heartening here is the emphatic response from Dale Thomas, an opposition player and the Collingwood spectators in the vicinity,'' Anderson said.

"Dale and those fans refused to stand by and just let this happen. They said enough is enough and that sends an extraordinarily powerful message that racial vilification is offensive and unacceptable.’’

Pert said the man had agreed to attend a vilification education program.

He will also write letters of apology to Wilkinson, both clubs and the surrounding supporters who lodged formal complaints.

It is the second time Wilkinson has been the victim of racial vilification while playing for the Suns.

Last season Bulldog Justin Sherman was suspended for four matches after abusing the Gold Coast youngster.

Wilkinson asked that his name be made public to help educate fans about racial abuse.

Earlier, Pert apologised to Wilkinson on behalf of Collingwood.

“On behalf of the entire Collingwood Football Club I want to publicly apologise to Joel for what he experienced during the match against Collingwood on Sunday evening," Pert said.

“It is important that Joel knows that the behaviour of one Collingwood supporter is not a reflection of the views of the broader Collingwood community.

"I hope Joel is heartened by the strong leadership position that Dale Thomas took, which was supported by the crowd that witnessed the incident and then, ultimately, the football club itself.”

With Aaron Langmaid