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A university has launched an investigation after a rotten banana was reportedly thrown at a black graduate student during an ice hockey match.
Tyrell Pearce said he was struck as he watched the game between his alma mater Sheffield Hallam University and their city rivals the University of Sheffield .
"This is the most racially abused I have been in my entire life," he told The Tab student newspaper.
He said there had been friendly banter between rival supporters at the 21 March game, but when his friends went to get drinks he was struck by the fruit.
"I chose to ignore it until I looked down and saw that it was a rotten banana," he added. "And I had the contents of this banana all over my head"
When he challenged a group in the direction it had come from, he said they remained silent so he "knew it was them".
Abdullah Okud, president elect of Sheffield Hallam University’s black and minority ethnic students’ committee, wrote about the incident on Facebook .
“We are very concerned and deeply saddened that a racist event had occurred," he said.
He added: “It is imperative now more than ever to condemn this incident and for both Universities and Students’ Unions to proactively work with all staff and students to make sure such incidents never happen again.”
A Sheffield Hallam University spokesperson, said: “We are aware that, during a recent Varsity sporting event, a Hallam graduate was the victim of an alleged racial incident.
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South Korean policemen detain student protestors during a protest against South Korean President Park Geun-Hye outside the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea. The protesters demanded that the parliament takes steps to impeach President Park Geun-Hye
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Filipino demonstrators face off with anti-riot police during a protest near the US Embassy in Manila, Philippine
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A federal judge in Mexico has ordered that a once-fugitive police chief be held on charges of kidnapping in the disappearance of 43 students
A man holds up a photograph of a missing student with a caption reading 'We are missing 43,' during a meeting marking the 25-month anniversary of the disappearances of 43 students in the southern state of Guerrero, in Mexico City. A federal judge in Mexico has ordered that a once-fugitive police chief be held on charges of kidnapping in the disappearance of 43 students
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University students protest against President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela. Masses of protesters jammed the streets of Venezuela's capital on the heels of a move by congress to open a political trial against Maduro, whose allies have blocked moves for a recall election
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University students protest against President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela
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Thousands, most of them high school students, march during a demonstration in Madrid, Spain, on a one day strike to protest about the country's education law that increases the number of annual exams
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Students gather on the west mall to confront the Young Conservatives of Texas student organization over a controversial bake sale on The University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas. The Young Conservatives of Texas chapter at the University of Texas-Austin sparked the protest with an affirmative action bake sale. The club encouraged students to buy a cookie and talk about the disastrous policy that is affirmative action
Donald Parish Jr, right, confronts Electrical and Computer Engineering senior Dewayne Perry over a controversial bake sale on The University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas. The Young Conservatives of Texas chapter at the University of Texas-Austin sparked the protest with an affirmative action bake sale. The club encouraged students to buy a cookie and talk about the disastrous policy that is affirmative action
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Brigham Young University announced that students who report sexual assault will no longer be investigated for possible violations of the Mormon-owned school's strict honor code that bans such things as alcohol use
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Students of secondary education march to protest against the final examinations and LOMCE (The Improvement Quality Education Law) law, after a call by trade unions, in Murcia, Spain
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South African police have used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of protesters who had marched to the parliament building to call for free university education, where the finance minister was giving a budget speech
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Police break up student protests outside the parliament in Cape Town, South Africa
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South African Policemen fire rubber bullets at student protestors in Cape Town, South Africa
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A student protestor is hit by a rubber bullet in Cape Town, South Africa
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An injured student is helped by colleagues during protest outside the parliament during South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's medium term budget speech in Cape Town, South Africa
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Plaintiffs and bereaved families of elementary school students killed in the tsunami that followed a major earthquake in northeastern Japan in 2011, show banners that say 'victory in a suit filed with the Sendai District Court' in Sendai. A Japanese court ordered municipalities to pay $13.7 million dollars to families of school children who were swept away to their deaths by the 2011 tsunami
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A group of student at Ewha Womans University calls for a thorough investigation into those involved in years of engagement with state affairs backstage by Choi Soon-sil, a personal confidante of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, at the school's front gate in Seoul, South Korea
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Students raise placards during a strike action called by the student union, in Madrid against university entry exams
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Libyans throw a newly graduated student into a fountain as they celebrate during the graduation ceremony for students from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Al-Arab University in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi
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Libyans celebrate as they attend the graduation ceremony for students from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Al-Arab University in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi
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Libyans celebrate as they attend the graduation ceremony for students from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Al-Arab University in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi
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Thousands of Thai Catholic students take part in mourning tributes and in singing the Thai Royal Anthem to honour late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at Saint Dominic School in Bangkok, Thailand
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Students of Silpakorn University paint portraits of the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the university campus in Bangkok
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A student of Silpakorn University paints a portrait of the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the university campus in Bangkok
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St Andrews University students take part in a foam fight known as Raisin Monday in the Lower College Lawn behind St Salvator's Quadrangle following the Raisin Weekend
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St Andrews University students take part in a foam fight known as Raisin Monday in the Lower College Lawn behind St Salvator's Quadrangle following the Raisin Weekend, an annual tradition where student 'parents' inflict tasks on the unfortunate first-years they have adopted as 'children' as part of a mentoring scheme
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Students at the Cuba's National Ballet School (ENB) in Havana, Cuba
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Students at the Cuba's National Ballet School (ENB) take part in a practice in Havana, Cuba
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Students at the Cuba's National Ballet School (ENB) wait in line to enter a classroom in Havana, Cuba
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“We are working with the University of Sheffield to investigate the incident and we have contacted the former student to offer any support he may need. The sporting community in Sheffield is inclusive and we are committed to championing the values of the Varsity Oath which reflects our belief that everyone should have the opportunity to play, spectate and engage in sport in a welcoming and inclusive environment.”
A University of Sheffield spokesperson said: "The University of Sheffield and Sheffield Students' Union will not tolerate racism and condemn the alleged abhorrent behaviour by an individual during the recent Varsity sporting event. This alleged incident clearly contravenes the values of inclusion and respect which are fundamental to both organisations and will not be tolerated. The University and the Students' Union will fully cooperate with any subsequent police investigation."
The incident comes after a pair 18-year-old men were arrested last month, after a Nottingham Trent University student posted video footage of racist chants outside her bedroom door in her student halls.
Members of a student law society were also suspended by the University of Exeter after WhatsApp conversations where they allegedly made racist comments were shared online .
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