Controversial ANC MPs Butana Khompela and Cedric Frolick have been told to put a lid on their contentious declarations over rugby, while a civic rights organisation and political party have joined the call for steps to be taken against the maverick politicians.

Civic rights organisation AfriForum has joined the Freedom Front Plus in condemning anti-rugby comments by Khompela and Frolick.

Khompela is also the chairman of the National Assembly's sports and recreation committee.

AfriForum chief executive Kallie Kriel said his organisation had asked ANC president Jacob Zuma to rein in on Khompela and his deputy, Frolick, for "racist" remarks directed at rugby.

Khompela and Frolick dismissed rugby as "racist" and a "sport for criminals", while also threatening to take all stadiums away from rugby.

"The ANC cannot extend a hand of friendship to minorities on the one side, while the other hand lashes out via people such as Khompela about issues which are very close to the hearts of minorities," Kriel said.

The divisive statements by ruling party MPs presented Zuma with an opportunity to demonstrate his commitment to unity and reconciliation.

"In the light of these actions, the ANC has a responsibility to call the two ANC representatives in parliament to order - failure to do so will send the message to the country that polarising statements are acceptable within the ranks of the ruling party," Kriel said.

On Thursday the FFPlus wrote to the Speaker of the National Assembly Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, asking her to take action against Khompela and Frolick.

Beeld newspaper reports that the plan by Khompela and Frolick to "take away" stadiums from rugby unions is "not ANC policy".

The South African Rugby Union is considering meeting the ANC's parliamentary leadership about this plan.

Khotso Khumalo, ANC MP and parliamentary political head of the party, said Government could not simply take away stadiums as proposed by Khompela and Frolick.

"It's not our party's policy to take away stadiums from any sporting code. On top of that big sponsors like Absa and FNB have interests in the stadiums. We won't do it," he told Beeld.

The party's national leadership agreed through spokesperson Brian Sokutu.

"We won't support anything like that. Issues about which sporting codes use which stadiums should be resolved in the sporting fraternity. It's not our policy [to take away stadiums]," he said.

It is the third time that Khompela is repudiated by his own party.

During last month's much-talked about sports indaba, the ANC issued a statement saying Khompela's statements are not in line with ANC policy.

Khompela was also chastised last year after threatening that Government would take away the Springbok rugby team's passports.

On Wednesday, Khompela said after a meeting of the parliamentary portfolio committee on sport: "We are on our way to taking away all stadiums from rugby…nothing will stop us".

Frolick called rugby "racist" and a "sport for criminals".

Willie Spies, Freedom Front Plus MP, told the National Assembly that Khompela and Frolick are "abusing parliamentary privilege".

He said several recent statements point to this, including comments that a rugby administrator "does not care when black people die", an accusation that the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) is full of "whites and Indians" and an allegation that an MP has a "white mentality" and "Boer manners".

Additional reporting by SAPA

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