England have until Monday morning to lodge a complaint after Tom Curry alleged he was the victim of a racist slur in Saturday’s 16-15 World Cup semi-final defeat by South Africa.
Curry drew the incident involving hooker Mbongeni Mbonambi to the attention of referee Ben O’Keeffe around the half-hour mark of the match at the Stade de France.
Although the alleged slur is not audible on the ref link, Curry’s subsequent conversation with O’Keeffe is.
“Sir, if their hooker calls me a white c***, what do I do?” the Sale flanker said.
Referee Ben O’Keeffe speaks with England’s Owen Farrell (Adam Davy/PA)
O’Keeffe replied: “Nothing, please. I’ll be on it.”
When asked after the match if Mbonambi had said something he shouldn’t have done, Curry replied “yeah”, although he declined to reveal what was said.
Mbonambi refused to shake Curry’s hand at the end of a dramatic clash in Paris that was won by Handre Pollard’s penalty after 78 minutes.
The PA news agency has contacted World Rugby and the South Africa Rugby Union for comment.
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