The International Cricket Council (ICC) is unlikely to take any action for the Pakistan Cricket Board’s complaint regarding alleged inappropriate conduct targeted at the Pakistan squad during the marquee World Cup clash against India on October 14. It was a jam-packed Narendra Modi Stadium when India beat Pakistan by 7 wickets in a one-sided affair as more than 1 lakh fans were supporting the home side, as according to PTI only three Pakistani-American fans were in the stands to support the players from the neighbouring nation.
A report in the news agency PTI has suggested that ICC won’t take any action for PCB’s complaint since the ambit of the anti-discrimination code is restricted to individuals and does not cover group.
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Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was booed when he entered to bat while a group of fans also heckled wicketkeeper Mohammed Rizwan with religious chants when he was walking back to pavilion following his dismissal/ Pakistan’s Director of Cricket Mickey Arthur had admitted that his players were overawed by the vociferous crowd during their seven-wicket thumping at the hands of India.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has lodged another formal protest with the ICC over delays in visas for Pakistani journalists and the absence of a visa policy for Pakistan fans for the ongoing World Cup 2023. The PCB has also filed a complaint regarding inappropriate conduct targeted at the Pakistan squad during the India vs Pakistan match held on 14 October 2023,” the PCB said in a statement on Tuesday.
It is understood that ICC has taken cognisance of the complaint and is ascertaining its nature and the process it might follow.
“The ICC takes every complaint very seriously but code is about individuals. I don’t know what exactly is PCB looking at but it will be very difficult to take any tangible action,” a veteran official, who has worked in both BCCI and ICC told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
PCB’s complaint about “inappropriate behaviour” needs to be seen in relative light.
“The ICC may identify individuals if there are charges of racism but if thousands of people are shouting a slogan, what can you do? No player was injured by any ‘missile’ hurled from the gallery? A partisan crowd is expected. That’s pressure of elite sport,” he added. As a part of standard protocol, the ICC exhibits its stand on racism and zero tolerance policy through billboards during its events.
A recent example of collective racism in sport is Brazilian football international Vinicius Junior’s case when he threatened to walk off the pitch in the second-half of a La Liga match between Real Madrid and Valencia last season after being targetted with racist slurs.
Since it was a case of collective chants of racism, governing body of football in the country had sanctioned partial closure of a stand at Valencia’s home ground Mestalla Stadium for five games and a fine of 45,000 euro was imposed on the club.
The sanction was later reduced to three games of partial closure and fine of 27,000 Euros after the club appealed against the decision. Seven people were in fact identified and detained by Spanish Police and banned from entering any stadium in Spain for three years in the country.
About Arthur’s ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ not blaring from the sound system, a BCCI official said, “There was no problem in playing ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ but in that entire match, was there any such moment where you could have played that song?”
(With Agency Inputs)
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