AFL investigates racist abuse directed at Mabior Chol

The AFL and the Hawthorn football club have condemned "vile and appalling" racial abuse sent to player Mabior Chol via a series of direct messages on social media. Chol, a Hawthorn forward with South Sudanese heritage, posted a screenshot of the comments he received on Instagram after his team’s loss to the Western Bulldogs on Friday night. The language in the comments was deemed unfit for publication. In his post, Chol wrote, "You can talk shit all you want but don’t be like this guy."

Chol kicked three goals for Hawthorn during their 12.5 (77) to 9.17 (71) defeat at the MCG. The 29-year-old, who has previously played for Gold Coast and Richmond, has been subjected to racist abuse multiple times over his decade-long AFL career.

On Saturday, both the Hawthorn Football Club and the AFL integrity unit confirmed they were collaborating to investigate the latest incident. If the perpetrator is identified, they may face a ban from attending AFL matches. AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon condemned the "vile and racist" messages, stating, "Racism has no place anywhere, anytime – not in our game, not in the community and not online."

Dillon added, "Players, or anyone, should never be subjected to this sort of abuse. To be clear, if you think this behaviour is acceptable, then you are not welcome in our game. Mabior’s courage to call this out should be commended and our immediate focus is supporting him and the Hawthorn Football Club."

Hawthorn CEO Ash Klein similarly spoke against the "vile and appalling" behavior, noting it was "simply not acceptable." Klein emphasized the club's support for Chol, declaring, "There is no place for racism in our game and in our society. If you are the sort of person who thinks it’s OK to make a comment or send a message like this, we don’t want you as part of our game. We commend Mabior’s courage in calling this out and we stand with him. Our immediate focus is on wrapping our arms around and supporting Mabior."