The South Sydney Rabbitohs mascot has landed in hot water after a video went viral appearing to show Reggie the Rabbit allegedly push a nine-year-old Cronulla Sharks fan on Saturday afternoon.
It came as the Rabbitohs suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 27-12 against Cronulla at Shark Park.
Reggie appeared to be making his way down the tunnel after the game but is seen pausing for a moment before appearing to shove the young Cronulla fan.
A security guard was then seen intervening and briefly spoke to the young fan, while the mascot stood and watched their exchange.
Sharks CEO Dino Mezzatesta stated that the NRL were aware of the incident.
‘We were made aware of the incident and both us and Souths are investigating,’ Mezzatesta said.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs mascot, Reggie the Rabbit, appeared to push a young fan on Saturday (pictured)
The boy, called Benji, is a nine-year-old Cronulla Sharks fan, and is understood to have asked the mascot for a high five
‘The NRL has also been made aware of what happened.
‘I saw something where the mother said the kid was in shock. It’s obviously an unfortunate incident.’
The boy, called Benji, was wearing a Sharks jersey as he stood with his friends next to the tunnel and had been hoping to get a high-five from the mascot, News.com.au reported.
Instead, the young fan was pushed by the mascot and was seen stumbling backwards several paces.
He had attended the match with his father.
His mother, Caroline Agius, told the publication that her son was told off by the security guard for getting too close.
‘From what my son Benji has told me, he was with his mates lining up there and they could see Reggie Rabbit coming up,’ Agius explained.
‘And they were all like: “Let’s see if we can get a high-five”.
The young fan’s mother said he had put his hand out asking for a high-five before the mascot appeared to push him
The young fan had been left ‘shocked’ by the incident according to his mother but was doing OK
‘So Benji popped his hand out, as you can see in the video, and he went to get a high-five but was pushed away instead.
‘He was then told off by a security guard for getting too close or for touching him, from what Benji said.
‘Benji apparently touched the mascot and was told off by the security guard.
‘He’s all right. He was more in shock.
‘I’ve taken him to the police station this afternoon and they’ve told me they can’t do anything. They don’t see it as an assault.
‘He was in shock more so and felt like he’d done something wrong, but I just explained to him that he’d done nothing wrong.
‘He was just there supporting football, enjoying it with his mates.’
Agius has reportedly contacted the Rabbitohs and the NRL over the matter.
It came after South Sydney had suffered a 27-12 defeat by Cronulla Sharks on Saturday
‘We are investigating what happened here and will have no further comment to make until our investigation is complete,’ a statement from the club read.
The club added that it had ‘reached out to the boy’s mother to let her know we will be investigating the incident.’
His mother has also published a post on the ‘Everything Sutherland Shire’ Facebook group to ask for more help on the incident before the post appeared to have been deleted by the group’s administrators.
‘So it’s a bit of a shock to see that this is how young fans are treated,’ she added.
‘It shouldn’t happen, especially to a child from a grown man.
‘It’s not what you expect at all. You wouldn’t expect that at a family-friendly event at all.’
