Racism in sport: It's a delicate subject. Johnny Wattersonexamines the extent to which the question of racism operates on the modern sports pitch.

Matt McCullough and Ulster deny it. London Irish winger Delon Armitage says it happened. It is almost always the way things turn out when an allegation of racism is made against a player.

What was said and who else heard it are invariably the two questions that quickly follow. It's an emotive issue and what makes it so is that the accused believes that he is being labelled a racist, which is not always the case. But that does not, in the eyes of most sports federations, diminish the seriousness of the charge, or the general feeling of repugnance if an allegation is upheld.

Armitage, the London Irish winger from San Fernando, Trinidad, is clear in what he heard. There are also suggestions from London that Sky Sports microphones may have picked up what was said. If so that will probably clarify things immediately.

Still, the tone of the statement issued by Ulster earlier in the week was forthright and outraged.

"Ulster Rugby and Matt McCullough strenuously deny the allegation, made by London Irish, of racial abuse towards Delon Armitage. Matt has apologised by way of letter, for the use of foul language towards Armitage in the heat of the moment during the match, but this should in no way be misinterpreted as an admission to the use of racist language and we regard the allegation made by London Irish most seriously as Ulster Rugby has an unblemished record in relation to racial issues," said Ulster CEO Michael Reid.

The London Irish claim was actually the second racism allegation of the week.

Last Saturday's French championship match between Toulon and Pau ended in some confusion when Pau's Black lock Guy Jeannard walked off the field in anger.

Jeannard, 34, was involved in a verbal altercation with the 28-year-old flanker Charl van Vliet close to the end of the match. Van Vliet had recently joined Toulon from Free State in South Africa.

Team-mates and the coach tried to keep Jeannard on the field but he refused to return, and the referee, Eric Gauzins, blew the final whistle.

Jeannard later claimed he had been subjected to "intolerable racist insults on the field" and preferred to go rather than lose his temper and react.

In September an official report in England found "insufficient evidence" of racist abuse between players during a Premiership game between Northampton and Bath.

Northampton scrumhalf Mark Robinson was given a written warning after being found to have used "inappropriate language" towards Bath's Andy Higgins.

There has been only one other investigation into alleged racist abuse by players during a Premiership game, when Gloucester's Olivier Azam was cleared by an RFU panel of abusing Newcastle's Epi Taione in December 2002. Then Newcastle coach Rob Andrew, now the RFU's director of elite rugby, accused hooker Azam and Gloucester fans of abusing the Tongan flanker. The case was subsequently thrown out by the panel chaired by Michael Belloff QC in January 2003.

Before arriving in Ulster from Australia, McCullough's team-mate Justin Harrison was also involved in a racist controversy when he identified himself as the player who screamed, "Leave the ball, you stinking Black c***," at the Cats winger Chumani Booi.

Harrison, playing for Waratahs at the time under the captaincy of the present Leinster scrumhalf Chris Whitaker, was abject in his apology but was given a three-match suspension and 30 hours of community work and fined 20,000 Australian dollars, suspended.

At the time the Australian secondrow was president of the Rugby Union Players Association and was not asked to step down from that position.

But the issue clearly crosses sporting codes. In GAA, Dublin's Jason Sherlock and the Ó Hailpín brothers of Cork have been regular targets for racist slurs. An ill-judged remark from an All-Ireland winning-captain and current Fianna Gael candidate, Graham Geraghty, cost him his place in the International Rules match against Australia in 1999. His "Black c***" remark to 17-year-old Damian Cupido meant the Meath player was sidelined for the first Test in Melbourne.

The recent allegations are a timely reminder of the accelerating changes in sport, particularly in Ireland. Where once there were few foreign - and especially non-white players in Irish sport - they have now become the norm. In rugby over the past 10 years, Southern Hemisphere and Argentinian players have become common in the Irish, Welsh, Scottish, French and English professional club sides.

"Every week I'm getting a phone call or two with people telling stories of racism of one kind or another," says Frank Buckley from Sport Against Racism Ireland (Sari). "It's mostly from the junior leagues or schoolboys football and it's mostly coming from the sidelines."

Buckley points to Croke Park in February when Ireland play England on the hallowed turf for the first time. The minute before the 5.30pm kick-off may well indicate how sophisticated Irish fans are on the issue, when the English anthem is played.

A test of sorts perhaps. But Sari are also deflated over the lack of a directive from the top, which would force governing sports bodies to take on race issues in a proactive way. If, for example, the grants given out to organisations were affected by compliance or lack of it to race issues, federations might be quicker to take them on board.

"We have an opportunity now to deal with this issue in the same way as we do the anti-doping and child-protection issues so that organisations know exactly how to deal with it. We've written letters to the GAA for the past number of years, five years anyway, and haven't got one reply," he says.

It will be hugely important for Ulster and McCullough that the allegations are not proven. If the hearing goes against him it will plunge Ulster in the unwanted position of becoming the first team since the European Cup began to have a racist charge against them upheld.

But whatever way the hearing goes, the ERC are adamant racial slurs in the European competition are not prevalent.

"There is no evidence that there is racism in the European Heineken Cup and there have been no proven cases," says the communications manager, John Corcoran. "In 2001 there was a citing made by Castres against Peter Clohessy alleging racist language against Ismalia Lassissi. That was withdrawn.

"Then in 2004 in a match against Ospreys. Munster cited an Ospreys player and they cited Marcus Horan for alleged racist abuse of Elvis Seviali'i. It went to an independent disciplinary hearing and Horan was cleared. You asked the question whether racism is rare in European rugby and I think that answers it."

The heat of the moment is no longer a defence. In that Ireland has moved on. It still seems to be the case, however, of a lot done but more to do.