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Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu has reacted angrily to perceived racist criticism of Pat Lam. David Davies/PA Wire/Press Association Images
Opinionated

Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu calls on fellow Polynesians to abandon New Zealand rugby

The controversial Samoan has had his say on perceived racist criticism of Auckland’s Samoan coach.

HE KEPT MANY rugby fans entertained with his Twitter rants during last year’s World Cup but it seems as if the suspension Samoa’s Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu received on the back of some of his more controversial comments haven’t lessened his appetite for speaking his mind.

Never one to be accused of sitting on the fence, the centre, who currently plays for Gloucester in the English Premiership, took to Twitter this morning to tell his 17,000 followers exactly what he thought of the criticism levelled at Auckland Blues coach Pat Lam.

He said:

The comment comes on the back of what many believe to be racially motivated criticism of Lam whose Blues side has slumped to just one win in six attempts this season and sit second from bottom of the Super 15 table.

The Auckland outfit contains many Polynesian and Maori players and, while Sapolu admits he isn’t a “fan” of Lam he went on to tweet that “reading racist taunts he & polynesian players receiving from NZ is not only f*cking disgusting, its not surprising!”

The tweets follow an emotional press conference given by Lam yesterday where he said:  ”We totally accept the criticism that we get when we don’t perform. But it’s the racist people, the social media and talkback where people say things that are pretty offensive.”

While most would agree with Sapolu’s sentiment that racism has no place in sport, his assertion that it is to be expected in New Zealand is unlikely to please rugby bosses.

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