Sports minister won’t retract statement

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Tokozile Xasa

Sports minister Tokozile Xasa stands by her statement on the Ashwin Willemse incident, despite SuperSport confirming that it was not racially motivated.

Xasa on Sunday called for Nick Mallett and Naas Botha to be suspended pending the result of SuperSport’s investigation into the episode that saw Willemse walk off set during a post-match discussion on Saturday night.

WATCH: Willemse walks off SuperSport set

‘It is clear that Ashwin Willemse was referred to as a quota player by his fellow panellists, despite his many successes in the field of play,’ said Xasa. ‘The continued appearance of Mallet [sic] and Botha will be seen as an endorsement of their alleged racist behaviour.’

On Monday, after meeting with Willemse, Mallett and Botha, SuperSport CEO Gideon Khobane said the incident had not been racially motivated.

However, Xasa said on Tuesday that all the facts were not yet out in the open.

‘My statement still stands,’ she said.