The Canterbury Rugby Union is set to make an official complaint to the police over the racial abuse of a Fijian player during a match on Sunday.
Sake Aca Photo: Facebook
Sake Aca, who plays for Christchurch Club, asked to be taken off the field during the senior club final at Lincoln University because of the taunts.
Canterbury Rugby Union community rugby general manager Tim Gilkison said Lincoln had worked hard to identify those who could be responsible.
"It's fair to say that they've got it down to a handful of supporters without actually identifying exactly which one it is," he said.
"Both parties believe the nature of the remarks cross a line and should be dealt with by the police."
Mr Gilkison said security would be in place for the division two final at Rugby Park this weekend.
"We just want to make sure that people are not drinking at the games as they are family events."
Lincoln University Deputy Vice-Chancellor Sheelagh Matear said this sort of behavior was utterly unacceptable for anyone, least of all anyone associated with Lincoln University.
"Since we heard about these verbal attacks - during what should have been a great game of rugby between two teams that had worked hard all season - we have been working to identify who these individuals are, and the most appropriate course of action."
Racial abuse across the Tasman
Racial abuse of sportspeople has also been highlighted today across the Tasman, with an AFL football star revealing he was thinking of quitting the game, due to racist booing every time he took the field.
Sydney Swans player Adam Goodes said the abuse was not just having an effect on him, but also his teammates.
The head of the Sydney Swans, Tom Harley, said the behaviour must stop.
"If you've been involved in this sort of behaviour, really it's in the eye of the person it's directed towards - which is Adam. We're not saying people are racist, but we're saying that if they're involved in this sort of behaviour, we think that's racially motivated."
