Ugo Monye: Police investigate after ex-England player alleges 'blatant racism' after Exeter Chiefs game
- Published
Ugo Monye retired from professional rugby after the 2014-15 season
Police have said they are investigating after former England international Ugo Monye accused a supporter of racist abuse at Exeter Chiefs on Sunday.
Monye said he was targeted after Exeter's victory against Gloucester.
The 40-year-old was working at the Premiership match as part of the punditry team on TNT Sport.
"We have been made aware of an incident which happened on Sunday 19 November at Sandy Park in Exeter," Supt Antony Hart from Devon and Cornwall Police said.
"Our enquiries are currently ongoing into the incident.
"We take all reports of hate crime extremely seriously and we will not tolerate this behaviour."
Exeter, who have apologised to Monye, said the incident had been captured on CCTV and that evidence had been passed on to the police.
Monye said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he had experienced "the most blatant racism I've seen from a supporter at a live game".
"So fed up," he wrote, adding the incident happened as he was leaving the ground and "not a single person said a word, challenged or even reported it".
RFU 'appalled by the racist abuse'
Exeter and Gloucester, as well as governing body the Rugby Football Union, have all given their backing to the former Harlequins and British and Irish Lions back, who won 14 caps for England.
"The Rugby Football Union is appalled by the racist abuse Ugo Monye faced following the Premiership match between Exeter Chiefs and Gloucester," a statement read.
"Ugo is a great champion of rugby, inclusion, and diversity; he has our full support.
"Racism cannot be accepted in our sport. Rugby authorities, clubs, fans, players, and volunteers must all act consistently and without tolerance to any form of abuse or discrimination."
Exeter said they would be "launching a full investigation" and offered "sincerest apologies" to Monye, adding: "This behaviour will not be tolerated at our rugby club."
In a further statement, external on Monday, the club said: "We would like to say a big thank you to the huge number of people who have been in contact with the club with statements and information regarding the incident.
"We know that this behaviour is not representative of our fans. Exeter Chiefs have a zero-tolerance policy for behaviour of this kind."
Gloucester said they would "encourage a thorough investigation and will co-operate fully to ensure the culprit is identified".
Premiership Rugby said in a statement: "Racism has absolutely no place in our game or society.
"Premiership Rugby offers our full support to Ugo Monye and we stand united with our clubs and players in the fight against racism."