From the Australian Jewish News:
AJAX in racial slur row
Adam KamienA SPECTATOR at an AJAX Football Club game against Parkdale two weeks ago has been accused of racially vilifying an opposition player.
Parkdale Football Club is claiming that Ryan Burger, who is a black South African reserve-grade player, was vilified, but hasn’t revealed what was said.
According to AJAX president Brian Goldberg, the matter has been dealt with. He said Parkdale has confirmed it wouldn’t take any further action with the league’s governing body, the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA).Goldberg spoke with Burger and Parkdale president Darren Fenech and followed up with a letter attempting to distance the club from the sentiments expressed by the spectator. He said the club and the VAFA was satisfied.
“They were fully understanding of the fact that even if it was an AJAX supporter, it is out of our reach and hard to manage.�
The incident comes after a big preseason push by the committee to curb unacceptable behaviour by supporters of the club, after a litany of incidents in recent years.
A letter from coach Stuart Powell was circulated early in the season asking supporters to behave, and while it is yet to be confirmed whether the spectator responsible for the incident is linked with AJAX, Goldberg is convinced the club’s early season efforts are working.
“[The incident] is disappointing, but on the other side, 99 per cent of AJAX supporters this year have really responded and been outstanding — in good and bad games.�
Fenech told The AJN that while he felt AJAX had taken the appropriate steps to resolve the matter, Burger was still keen to undertake mediation with the supporter concerned.
“Brian was fantastic he handled it very well and was quite rightly dissatisfied with what occurred and we’re more than happy with the way it panned out,� he said.
“The player is happy. He said he would still like to sit across from the person who made the remarks and talk to him about it, but it doesn’t look like that will happen.”
