While NRL chief operating officer Graham Annesley yesterday said there was little that could be done without Paea giving evidence against Gallen, Test stars Frank Pritchard, Setimata Sa and Sam Thaiday told the Herald that racial slurs should not be tolerated. They were supported by former NSW Origin star Anthony Mundine and Gold Coast chief executive Michael Searle.

Mundine, who lodged a complaint that led to Bulldogs prop Barry Ward being suspended for racial comments in 1998, said players should receive 10-match bans for racial abuse.

South Sydney sacked Bryan Fletcher from the captaincy, stood him down for one match and imposed a $10,000 fine after investigating claims that he had racially abused Parramatta's Dean Widders in a game in 2005, but Cronulla officials appear to have no intention of looking into the allegations against Gallen.

After chasing Gallen following a tackle, Paea could be heard to say: "Don't ever say that again". He then told the match officials: "He called me a black ----. He's a racist."

Dragons skipper Ben Hornby told the referees Paea wanted to make a formal complaint but when pressed, the Tongan World Cup representative changed his mind.

But several other players said they would support Paea if he wanted to take the matter further. "If it was me, I probably would have told the ref," Pritchard said. "It doesn't matter if you're white, black, yellow or brown, I don't think any racial slur should be tolerated, it's wrong."

Thaiday said that if the alleged slur had occurred "it is out of line and it is offensive".

"Whatever punishment the NRL come up with, I will back because it is important to deal with these things," the Brisbane forward said.

Mundine, who watched the game on television in his Brisbane hotel room as he prepared for Wednesday night's middleweight world title bout against Daniel Geale, described racism as a "cancer in the game" and said the NRL had to act as many players felt uncomfortable making a complaint.

"It's a disgrace if that did happen and nothing is done about it," Mundine said. "I think Mickey Paea should be encouraged and supported to stand up against that sort of stuff because it's been going on for too long and it has to be stopped.

"Mickey Paea seems like a shy kid. He probably doesn't want the heat on him, so there's no way he was going to say anything. That's the culture that exists in the game. They feel like the system is against them.

"But [NRL chief executive] David Gallop should step in and do something about it. If they are serious about wanting to get racism out of the game, and a player said that, he should get fined big money and suspended for 10 matches.

"They've got to deal with it the way they have with other things, like the judiciary and referees."

Sa, a close friend of Paea's, said he was not surprised his deeply religious former Roosters teammate did not want to pursue the matter further.

"The way Mickey reacted will show that he doesn't condone it, but he is a very forgiving person, so he would rather go forward than seek revenge," Sa said.

"I don't know how I would react because it's never happened to me, but I think I would try to retaliate to it on the field and keep it there."

Pritchard said he would also seek justice on the field if he were racially abused.

"I would have done what Mickey did and chased him around the field," he said.

Searle, who has proposed an annual match between the Indigenous Dreamtime team and an NRL All Stars side, said there was no place for racism in the game.

"No one can even attempt to justify or defend it," Searle said. "I understand blokes are out there in the heat of the battle but that is no excuse." Gallen and Sharks chief executive Tony Zappia did not return the Herald's calls yesterday, while Dragons CEO Peter Doust said: "As far as we're concerned, the matter is settled."