Australia opener Usman Khawaja has been very vocal about his support for Palestine amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. The two sides have been at war for quite some time and it has caused loss of lives and infrastructure.
To show solidarity with Palestine, Usman Khawaja, who is a devout Muslim with roots in Pakistan, planned to wear shoes with a couple of handwritten messages on them – ‘Freedom is a human right’ and ‘All lives matter’ – as a show of support for the Gaza civilians who’ve lost their lives in the ongoing conflict with Israel.
However, he didn’t get permission to do so from the ICC and Cricket Australia, so Khawaja decided to wear the black armband when Australia clashed with Pakistan in the first of the three Tests which was played in Perth.
Khawaja last week lashed the ICC for censoring him and doubled down on his promise to continue to promote messages of support for civilians in Gaza.
He was warned by the ICC that he faced heavy sanctions if he wore those shoes during the match — given the governing body has rules in place that prohibit the display of personal messages that relate to politics, religion, or race.
Notably, there has previously been a situation where players were found to violate ICC rules for wearing black armbands that were not allowed by the governing body. And now, it has been reported that the ICC didn’t approve the black armband that Khawaja wore in the Perth Test.
All players must first get permission from their home cricket board and the ICC before wearing armbands — or risk being found in breach of ICC rules.
NewsCorp report has stated that, if sanctioned, Khawaja would likely only receive an official reprimand and is not expected to face any further punishment.
“The custom with a black armband is if you have a personal bereavement. Usman Khawaja hasn’t had a personal bereavement. We’re waiting to see what the ICC says here. There is precedent on this topic.
In 2003, Henry Olonga and Andy Flower both wore black armbands during the World Cup. It was a protest about what was happening in Zimbabwe with the government. They were ruled to be in breach of the regulations by wearing those armbands, but Malcolm Speed was in charge then. He was a sensible fellow and said, ‘You’re in breach but we’re not going to do anything about it’
I would hope that that’s the situation here. It would seem to be an overreach to me to discipline him for wearing that armband,” NewsCorp reporter Peter Lalor said on Channel 7.
However, things could escalate if Khawaja continues to wear a black armband during the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
Khawaja said it was unfair the governing body stepped in to stop him from delivering his message. He pointed out inconsistencies in the ICC’s rulings where some players have previously been approved to show personal messages that surrounded topics of politics, religion, or race.
(Fox Sports inputs)
