A SPECTATOR was evicted from Aurora Stadium on Friday night after abusing North Melbourne ruckman Majak Daw during the third quarter of the NAB Challenge clash against Hawthorn.
Fans seated around the Hawthorn supporter alerted authorities immediately and he was escorted from the stadium within minutes.
The supporter, sitting in the RACT Stand, had a young boy with him at the time.
Hawks chief executive Stuart Fox said the club was seeking to establish whether he is a club member. If so, he could have his membership cancelled.
He said the Hawks had a "zero tolerance approach" towards anyone who vilifies a player, official or supporter. "Racial vilification at the football in any form is offensive and totally unacceptable," he said.
North coach Brad Scott said Daw only learned of the incident after the game.
"Unfortunately there are still idiots out there, but if anything good was to come out of it, it was a hawthorn supporter but other Hawthorn supporters around made it known to him that it wasn’t on and those supporters are to be applauded," he said.
"It is disappointing. Majak has been through a lot in his life – far worse than this – but it is disappointing that these things still exist."
Hawthorn skipper Luke Hodge said it was good to see his club's supporters move quickly to have the abusive spectator dealt with.
"I agree with what Brad (Scott) said last night. We're extremely disappointed that it was a Hawthorn supporter who said it but pleased that other Hawthorn supporters picked it up and wouldn't stand for it. There's no room for in today's game," he said on Saturday at the start of the club's 2014 Australia Post AFL Community Camp in Launceston.
"The word is out now, out here people who still think that sort of thing is acceptable, more people will stand up to them to help stamp it out.
"We don't want people who speak like that to be part of our club."
It is not the first time the Sudanese-born player has been subject to abuse at the football. In May last year, two Western Bulldogs supporters were evicted from Etihad Stadium last year for abusing Daw.
In 2012, a supporter was thrown out of Aurora Stadium for racially abusing then-Hawk forward Lance Franklin.