It’s been almost 20 years since Nicky Winmar famously held up his jumper and pointed to his skin after being racially abused during an AFL game.

Sadly, racism in football has never really gone away, and has reared its ugly head once again in the past couple of weeks.

In last Sunday’s game between Hawthorn and North Melbourne, Kangaroos’ ruckman Majak Daw, playing in only his second game, was on the receiving end of a barrage of racist insults from a Hawks supporter. This man was later ejected from the MCG and given a penalty notice from Victoria Police.

A number of Hawthorn players expressed their disappointment in what had occurred on Sunday, with some taking to Twitter to vent their frustration.

Wonder if the @hawthornfc racist supporter enjoys the work of our best players. Buddy, Jnr, Shaun, Gibbo and Hilly? #banthebogan #buffoon

— Xavier Ellis (@XaviEllis8) May 1, 2013

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time in 2013 that racism during AFL games made the headlines. In round two, Collingwood launched an investigation into allegations two of its members racially vilified Carlton’s Chris Yarran. Unlike in Daw’s case however, the culprits were unable to be identified and escaped punishment.

The AFL has been plagued with racial vilification issues in the past few years. In 2011 Lance Franklin, Liam Jurrah, Andrew Krakouer, and Danyle Pearce were all abused by fans throughout the season. Daw was also subjected to another racist tirade while playing for Werribee in the VFL.

The most disappointing incident was when then Western Bulldogs midfielder Justin Sherman used racist language toward an opponent during a match. Sherman was given a four week suspension and fined $5,000 for racially vilifying Gold Coast Suns midfielder Joel Wilkinson.

At the time, the AFL hoped that would be the last they would hear of any racial abuse. However, it doesn’t appear to have slowed down.

Wilkinson was once again at the centre of a racial storm in 2012, where a Collingwood supporter had their membership revoked after racially taunting the young Sun. Collingwood’s Dale Thomas reported the incident to officials immediately after the game, and his claims were backed up by a number of Collingwood members who complained to the club in the following days.

In the aftermath of that incident, Magpies CEO Gary Pert made a public statement. “It is important that Joel knows that the behaviour of one Collingwood supporter is not a reflection of the views of the broader Collingwood community,” Pert said.

Joel Wilkinson has thanked the SUNS, his teammates, the @AFL and @Collingwood_FC for supporting him and promptly dealing with the issue.

— Gold Coast Suns (@GoldCoastSUNS) June 5, 2012

Whilst this may be all well and good, the number of incidents in the last couple of years should be ringing some major alarm bells within the AFL. It’s hard to criticise the example set by the AFL and club officials, but the question has to be asked if wider progress is being made.

The AFL’s chief executive Andrew Demetriou spoke strongly about the issue, saying that people who bring racism to football should wake up to themselves.

“There is no place for any discrimination, not just in our game, but in society,” Demetriou told reporters in Adelaide.

“And the sooner people wake up to themselves, that it will be their fellow supporters that turn on them, the better. And that is what’s happening. If people want to continue to go down the track of discriminating against people, abusing them, or vilifying them, then there will be no place for them in the game.”

North Melbourne coach Brad Scott added his voice to the growing cries demanding an end to racism in sport once and for all.

“We’re passed that as a society. If you hear it, report it. It’s your responsibility; you shouldn’t just sit idly by. It’s everyone’s responsibility to report it because we’ve got to stamp it out of our game,” Scott said.

“It has no place in footy and no place in society.”

Sadly, a small number of people are yet to figure that out.

Paddy Naughtin is a third year Bachelor of Journalism student at La Trobe University, and a staff writer for upstart. You can follow him on Twitter here: @PaddyNaughtin

Photo: Twitter – @ludbeyheraldsun