UPDATE 5.33pm: AFL Victoria will ban a spectator from entering VFL games unless he undertakes racial vilification awareness education.

The league has arranged with Victoria Police to offer the spectator racial and religious vilification education.

The man, believed to be aged in his 60s, will also be refused entry to any VFL game for the rest of the season, and will not be welcome back unless he undertakes the required education process and provides a written apology to up-and-coming Kangaroos star Majak Daw.

The AFL club's Sudanese-born recruit was playing for VFL feeder team Werribee against Port Melbourne on Saturday when a male spectator hurled abuse at him.

Police escorted the man from the ground in the second quarter after complaints from Kangaroos and Werribee officials.

The AFL Victoria decision followed discussions with both Port Melbourne and Werribee, Victoria Police and the Kangaroos, where Daw is a rookie-listed player.

AFL Victoria general manager Grant Williams said the man's behaviour was totally unacceptable.

"The public condemnation of the racial abuse towards Majak shows that as a society, we are not willing to accept this sort of behaviour, whether it is at the football, or in the general public," he said.

"We do not want people who behave in this manner at our games. We have worked hard to ensure that all players from all cultures are welcome in our game and we will do whatever is required to ensure that they are free from any sort of on or off-field vilification."

Mr Williams said while the league could remove the spectator from VFL games, the focus needed to be on educating not only the offender, but anyone attending matches who thinks it is acceptable to racially vilify players.

"It is not, and never will be, acceptable," he said.

After speaking to police and the Kangaroos, AFL Victoria has confirmed Daw will not pursue the matter.

Mr Williams commended both Werribee and Port Melbourne football clubs for their quick response to the incident.

"Once both clubs were made aware of what occurred, they acted swiftly to ensure the offender was identified and approached straight away," he said.



"This again reflects that conduct of this manner has no place in football. Fortunately, the vast majority of people who attend our game at any level understand this.''

Melbourne coach Dean Bailey weighed into the debate today, saying there was no room for racism in the game.

"I think what happened to young Majak Daw is a disgrace," he said.

“Here’s a young man making his way in life and being a footballer and really representing his people and to have those slurs on him is just ridiculous.

“I hope they find the people who’ve said it in the crowd and they really should be naming and shaming them.

“The same with Buddy (Franklin) down in Tasmania. Those things should be stamped out of the game as quick as we can … they shouldn’t exist.”

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Bailey's comments come after a pioneer of the AFL's racial vilification policy called on the league to step up its fight against racism or risk a return to the "bad old days".

Sharon Firebrace, who was brought in by the AFL to lecture clubs following the infamous Nicky Winmar incident at Victoria Park in 1993, said the spate of recent attacks was a disturbing development after several years of progress.

"Clearly, they need to address it again," she said.

"They need a stronger message that this is unacceptable.

"That type of message must come out across all their promotions and marketing and all of the information they put out."

Daw said yesterday he was deeply disturbed by the abuse.

"I'm pretty disappointed about what happened," he said.



"We're in 2011 now and honestly I was shocked by what was said.

"I've come to terms with what's happened...I'm here to make a stand on it and say it's not acceptable, but I've got to move on."

The 20-year-old said he had never experienced such racism on the footy field before the match.

"I shouldn't have given a thought to what he said, but it obviously affected my game," he said.



"I didn't play the game I wanted to play."

At junior level, a young Aboriginal footballer was allegedly abused by four elderly men at a senior match between Branxholme-Wallacedale and Coleraine in Victoria's west.

Kangaroos president James Brayshaw said the AFL had led the fight against racism, but needed to reinforce the message.

"I think AFL across all levels do lead in this region, but the other part is the people in the crowd watching. If you ever hear that kind of stuff, you've just got to make sure the perpetrator knows it's totally unacceptable," he said.

AFL general manager of football operations Adrian Anderson said the league abhorred any form of racial abuse or vilification at any level.

"The AFL, players, clubs and state and territory leagues have done an enormous amount of work to spread the message and the vast amount of supporters and football fans celebrate the fact that anyone from any background can and does play our game," he said.

"But there are clearly some dinosaurs who refuse to heed that message and it is those people we don't want at our games."

AFL Players' Association chief executive Matt Finnis agreed.

"Every person is entitled to a workplace free from vilification and footballers are no different when they go to work," he said.

"AFL players of all cultural backgrounds are united in condemning vilification and are sickened to think that this kind of behaviour can still occur in a game which, over its history, has transcended so many racial, religious and socio-economic boundaries."

North Melbourne coach Brad Scott said he had spoken to Daw and condemned the incident.

"It did hurt him and so it should have," Scott said.

"I just reaffirmed to him our horror and disgust that there are still certain elements in Australian society that would resort to that disgusting behaviour."

Originally published as Fan banned over Daw race slur