Italian rugby club Treviso has suspended an unnamed player after black prop Cherif Traore received a rotten banana as a Christmas gift in a Secret Santa exchange which has now prompted a formal investigation.
Traore, a 28-year-old Italian international, who was born in Guinea, was given the present on Tuesday as the club, otherwise known as Benetton Rugby, wrapped up its training schedule before Christmas.
The gift was allegedly given specifically to Traeore during Secret Santa, a game where individuals buy presents that are then distributed anonymously.
“The FIR (The Italian Rugby Federation) informs that the Federal Prosecutor has launched the investigations necessary to ascertain the facts, as well as the collective and individual responsibilities, to protect the founding values and reputation of the game,” the body said.
“Benetton Rugby has simultaneously decided to suspend one of its members as a precaution, for the entire duration of the investigations by the Public Prosecutor’s Office,” it added.
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Treviso, backed by clothing company Benetton, face fellow Italians Zebre Parma in the United Rugby Championship (URC) this weekend.
The URC had earlier asked Treviso to provide a report on the “abhorrent” racism suffered by Traore.
Traore wrote on social media that he had been “hurt” by the “offensive” gesture.
“What hurt me most was seeing most of my mates present laughing. As if everything is normal,” he added in the Instagram post.
England prop Ellis Genge, who was a central part of a recent ‘Rugby Against Racism’ campaign for the past two years, slammed the incident on social media.
“No well done, absolutely right, ‘gifting’ a ‘teammate’ a rotten banana for Secret Santa is not a big deal and a simple apology will suffice!,” Genge tweeted.
“If there is no further action on this from Benetton then everything we’ve done for ‘rugby against racism’ has been a tick box for most.”
Many others also took to social media to share their anger.
In an initial statement, Treviso said it condemned all forms of racism and discrimination.
They later said the whole team had been called to a meeting with top executives, who repeated their condemnation of racism, and all the players apologised to 16-time international Traore
