Asserting that racism has no place in cricket, BCCI President Sharad Pawar and his Australian counterpart Creagh O'Connor Wednesday issued a joint statement.
MUMBAI: Asserting that racism has no place in cricket, BCCI President Sharad Pawar and his Australian counterpart Creagh O'Connor issued a joint statement on Wednesday, vowing to stand by the ICC Anti-Racism Code.
The Ricky Ponting-led Australian team has alleged that star all-rounder Andrew Symonds had been subjected to racial abuse in the last two ODIs at Vadodara and Nagpur but local authorities and the BCCI have disputed the claim.
In the joint statement too, Pawar did not confirm the veracity of the claims and joined O'Connor to say that racism has no place in cricket, on or off the field.
They said racism was not confined to any particular country but was a global problem.
"Cricket crowds in all cricket nations are often noisy and boisterous, which is part of the fun of cricket," they said.
"But all cricket nations have to be on guard to ensure that the fun does not cross the boundary into unacceptable behaviour.
"If it does, it is our expectation that the specifics of the ICC Anti Racism Code be enforced without fear or favour," they said.
"Players of all countries have a right to expect they will be treated with respect wherever they play in the world.
"Spectators, team officials or players who are concerned about inappropriate behaviour of other people at venues should draw that behaviour to the attention of venue authorities immediately so that it can be assessed on the spot and, if appropriate, addressed immediately rather than being reviewed via media reports published well after the crowd has gone home," they added.
Pawar and O'Connor said they were concerned the ICC Anti Racism Code could only work if it was genuinely embraced for the intent it sought to achieve.
They said they had instructed their respective managements to ensure that the objectives of the Code were understood and implemented appropriately at all venues.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}