The Rugby Football League is investigating an allegation of racism made against the Australian businessman who is a majority owner of the Toronto Wolfpack.
The governing body is examining comments made on social media by Swinton prop Jose Kenga, who claims he was racially abused by David Argyle in the immediate aftermath of the Lions’ Championship match against the Wolfpack in Toronto in April.
Kenga, who was born in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, claims Argyle said to him “do they allow black people in Swinton?” before laughing and handing over a drink token.
“I have never felt so little in my life and can’t believe that people can still have such a racist mind,” Kenga said on his Twitter account.
“There’s no room for intolerance, ignorance and racism.”
An RFL spokesman said: “After being made aware of the tweet from Jose Kenga last night, the RFL’s compliance department has opened an investigation.
“We have a zero tolerance approach to racist behaviour of any type.”
The incident is another embarrassment for the game’s youngest professional club, who revealed on Tuesday that one of their players, Australian prop Darcy Lussick, had been refused re-entry into the country by the UK Border Agency.
Argyle, an Australian mining magnate who has bank-rolled the Canadian club since its formation in 2017, issued an apology in a statement posted on the club’s website.
The statement said: “As soon as I was made aware of Jose Kenga’s tweet relating to our conversation after the match in Toronto on 28th April 2019, I reached out to the Swinton Lions senior management team.
“I have requested to speak directly to Jose and apologise personally for my words, which I hope to do as soon as possible.
“I deeply regret making Jose feel terrible and must stress that it was never my intention to do so.
“We take great pride in making Toronto an amazing experience for all travelling teams and their loyal fans. We try to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome.
“However, that day I fell short on delivering those standards. I take full responsibility and I want to unreservedly apologise to Jose, Swinton Lions, Toronto Wolfpack and our great fans for my comments.”
