Johannesburg (AFP)
South African rugby player Eben Etzebeth has been heard by his country's Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) about the racist insults he is accused of uttering on the eve of the Springbok's departure on Friday. for the World Cup in Japan.
According to local media reports, the second line, a future Toulon player, is accused by several witnesses of insulting a homeless man and pointing a gun at him last week in the coastal town of Langebaan (south-west). ).
The 27-year-old rugby player categorically denied the facts.
"All these statements are false, I am, and I will always do everything to be, an ambassador of this beautiful rainbow nation and this sport that I adore," he said after the incident.
After a complaint, the SAHRC briefed Friday that it had opened an investigation and that it had "discussed Thursday with Eben Etzebeth and his lawyers," without further details.
The South African federation renewed Friday its support for his player, repeating that "the player (had) denied any fault before the commission and promised all his cooperation to his investigation".
Since it was revealed, the case has stirred social networks in South Africa, where the issue of racism is still sensitive a quarter of a century after the fall of the apartheid regime.
With 72 caps, Eben Etzebeth is a mainstay of the South African rugby team, considered one of the favorites of the World Cup starting next month in Japan.
The 31 players selected for the competition and coaching Springboks had to take off Friday from Johannesburg to rally the country of the rising sun.
Two-time world champion (1995, 2007), South Africa begins the competition on September 21 against the All Blacks, winners of the last two editions.
© 2019 AFP