Mpumalanga rugby boss Hein Mentz has denied that he was motivated by racism when he barred VIP soccer guests from his union's private suite.
The rugby administrator, a former Freedom Front MPL, was in the line of fire in the national assembly sport committee on Wednesday, over a decision - since reversed - to bar the Mpumalanga Black Aces soccer team from using the facility for its select guests.
The ban was described by Mpumalanga sport MEC MJ Mahlangu, one of the guests turned away, as motivated by racism.
He also claimed the Pumas was paying the local municipality about R1 000 a year to lease the stadium, but in turn subletting to the Black Aces for R10 000 a month.
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"We had trouble with them about how they handled the nice suite of the union," Mentz told the committee. He described how the rugby union's liquor cabinet had been raided, alcohol consumed, and the union's memorabilia allegedly stolen.
After the third incident, he decided to call a halt to his union's largesse, Mentz told MPs.
"If you break into my liquor and drink my liquor, it has nothing to do with race. It is pure hooliganism. I will not tolerate that. If there were white people doing that or Indians, I don't care, I would have treated them in the same way."
Mentz said the memorabilia was "precious" and irreplaceable as some jerseys bore signatures of people who had since died.
"How do I replace that ? That is why we stopped that."'
The Mpumalanga Black Aces will now pay R4 000 a month instead of R10 000.
- This article was originally published on page 4 of Pretoria News on May 15, 2008
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