Michael Holding has hit out at the ICC over their decision to charge Usman Khawaja for wearing a black armband in the first Test against Pakistan, labelling their response as showing a “lack of moral standing as an organisation”.
The West Indies and broadcasting legend has expressed support for Khawaja after he was criticized for wearing a black armband during the first Test match of the Australia series against Pakistan. “I’ve been following the Khawaja debacle and I can’t say I’m surprised by the ICC’s stance,” Holding told The Weekend Australian.
“You could argue that I would have been surprised if most other organizations had shown some consistency in attitude and behavior on certain issues, but they haven’t.” They Once again showing their hypocrisy and lack of moral standing. It’s an organization. ”
During a test match in Perth, Khawaja was stopped from wearing a sweatshirt that read “All lives are equal” and “Freedom is a human right” because it violated dress and equipment regulations, causing controversy. brewed. This would be a violation of ICC regulations.
The rules state that players must not display political, religious or racist messages while participating in ICC matches. Khawaja had a message taped to his shoe during the match and instead wore a black armband, which was interpreted as a show of support for civilians in the conflict-ridden Gaza Strip. Mr Khawaja later clarified that his armband was for a “personal bereavement”.
However, Khawaja was later indicted by the ICC for wearing the armband. A board spokesperson said: “Usman did not post a personal message (armband) during the first Test match against Pakistan without first obtaining permission from Cricket Australia and the ICC to display it, as required by personal message regulations. ”
Holding also highlighted inconsistencies in the ICC’s regulations, pointing out that during the Black Lives Matter movement, players were allowed to kneel to show support before playing. During West Indies’ 2020 Test series against England, tour players also wore T-shirts with the words “Black Lives Matter” and a raised fist on the collar.
“ICC regulations state that forwarding authorization cannot be granted for messages related to political, religious, or racial activities or causes,” Holding said. “So how on earth were these damn people allowed to kneel for BLM and cover their tree stumps with LGBTQ paint?”
Ahead of the second Test of the series in Sydney on Friday, Khawaja also questioned whether the ICC was consistently enforcing the rules.
“On the second day (in Perth) they asked me what the purpose was (of the armband) and I said it was for a personal bereavement,” Khawaja said. “I never said it was for any other purpose. As for the shoes, I’m happy to say it’s something different. The armband doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t like all the rules, I’ve put stickers on my rackets, put my name on my shoes, and done everything possible without ICC approval, and I’ve never been reprimanded.
“I respect the ICC and its rules and regulations.” chant. This consistency has not yet been achieved. I was very open and honest. Let ICC resolve this issue. ”
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