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'Stofile wants rugby race war'
30/03/2008 22:18 - (SA)
Johannesburg - SA Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins has reacted angrily to racial comments made by Mike Stofile and openly accused him of trying to start a race war in rugby.
Hoskins, who beat Stofile in the election for the presidency held on Friday in Cape Town, was angry at comments that Stofile made to the media shortly after he was defeated in the election.
Stofile told the media that "there is no place for blacks in South African Rugby". Hoskins told the Afrikaans newspaper Sondag that Stofile was fanning racial hatred.
"I am astounded at the manner in which he has conducted himself," Hoskins said of Stofile, "He is a hypocrite. On one hand he has no problem in referring to Peter de Villiers as a black person when it suits him, but if he loses the election then its not okay.
"I am black, I was born here in Africa and if I am not black, then am I white?" Hoskins said.
Hoskins was referring to the fact that in the South African racial make-up, he and De Villiers are considered "coloured" and not an ethnic black as Stofile is.
"It is irresponsible to make comments like that," Hoskins told the newspaper in reference to Stofile's comments about race.
"If he says things like that, he is only fostering the racial divide and breaking down the harmony that we have tried to build up for years in South African rugby."
Hoskins referred to the stint that Stofile had during his two years as deputy president of South Africa's rugby body. Stofile served for two years as a representative for the IRB but never served on any decision making committee.
"Ask the IRB what they think of Mr Stofile?" Hoskins told Sondag,
"Ask the African Rugby Union CAR. CAR is a body where three quarters of its delegates are ethnic black and they asked him to step down. They didn't have the confidence in him. That is why." Hoskins added that he expected a backlash and more political pressure from government circles.
Best interests of the game
"But we will handle it like we have always handled it. I don't think politicians should get involved in sport, I really don't think it would be in the best interests of the game".
In his turn, Stofile said in a separately published interview that he "is not bitter" but that he stood by his statement.
"There is no place for black people in South African rugby," he reiterated. "It has been shown over and again. There are many examples, and in my case there were several cases where I was not accommodated in the decision making process.
"You would think the second in charge would have some say in the rugby organisation, but that never happened." Stofile warned Hoskins to use his next two years to promote honesty in rugby.
"People don't forget easily and he should remember that. This is an organisation for the people, not for the president. He should be open with his strategy and planning, because it never happened in my time."
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Rugby
