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Symonds racially abused yet again
Alex Brown in Mumbai
October 18, 2007
ANDREW Symonds has been subjected to yet another round of monkey chants, this time by sections of the Wankhede Stadium crowd during Wednesday night's seventh and final one-day international.
The incident occurred on the same day that the Board of Control for Cricket in India finally relented and pledged to investigate racist crowd behaviour, having initially attempted to dismiss the issue.
But there can be no denying it now. Following his dismissal for a first-ball duck to spinner Murali Kartik on Wednesday, the Australian all-rounder was taunted with the same monkey chants he was subjected to in Vadodara six days ago. Many local observers had predicted Wednesday's events, with the Wankhede Stadium crowd regarded as the most hostile and vitriolic in India.
Australian team manager Steve Bernard consulted ICC match referee Chris Broad and ICC security manager NS Virk about the taunts. Virk in turn dispatched police, who evicted several perpetrators.
Symonds has been portrayed as a villain by the Indian press in recent weeks, and he was jeered loudly by spectators both on his way to the centre and his return to the pavilion. But it was the monkey taunting following his dismissal that will most upset the Queenslander and his teammates, all of whom had hoped the issue was close to being resolved.
An Australian photographer captured several images of monkey taunting from the crowd, providing for the first time evidence of Symonds's earlier claims. A racist thread has weaved its way through the latter stages of this series, and any further attempts by the BCCI to bury heads in the sand will presumably be met with scorn by the International Cricket Council.
Several Indian media outlets have gone to great lengths this week to explain that monkey chants in Indian cricket, unlike in European football, are not intended to be racially derogative. However, the fact that sections of the Mumbai crowd engaged in monkey taunts on Wednesday - after the Australians outlined their belief that the chants in Vadodara were racially motivated - suggests such reports are erroneous.
Still, it seems a corner has been turned. Sharad Pawar, the BCCI chairman and most powerful figure in international cricket, adopted a vastly different stance to his subordinates yesterday by insisting that the matter would be looked into and the ICC's anti-racism code obeyed.
Pawar, however, shared the sentiments of other BCCI officials by stating that, in his opinion, Symonds mistook the antics of the crowd for racism. Symonds, along with the Australian team, believe otherwise.
"We respect that we have to protect the individual player," Pawar told the Herald. "There is a complaint and we will take the appropriate action. I believe this is a misunderstanding; a language issue. There are many languages spoken in India, and I don't understand many of them, myself.
"Still, it is the responsibility of the Indian board to execute that [the ICC's anti-racism code]. There have already been steps taken."
Pawar's comments will be viewed by many as a backdown by the BCCI, which initially refused to acknowledged the incident in Vadodara took place. The BCCI has since made moves to appoint an anti-racism officer, as is mandatory under ICC guidelines, and has posted notices at the past four matches informing spectators of the penalties for racist behaviour.
The manouevrings of the Indians comes in the aftermath of the stern warning delivered by Ray Mali, the ICC's chairman, and David Morgan, the council's chairman-elect, in yesterday's Herald. Both chairmen insisted that the BCCI must adhere to the council's anti-racism code and investigate Symonds's allegations. According to Pawar, suggestions that the race row would damage relations between the BCCI and Cricket Australia were incorrect.
"This will not at all affect our relationship with Cricket Australia," he said. "We have a very strong relationship, and we are hoping that will continue."
An hour after the goading of Symonds on Wednesday night, Pawar and his Cricket Australia counterpart, Creagh O'Connor, released a joint statement deploring racism.
"All cricket nations have to be on guard to ensure that the fun does not cross the boundary into unacceptable behaviour," the statement read.
"If it does, it is our expectation that the specifics of the ICC anti-racism code be enforced without fear or favour.
"Players of all countries have a right to expect they will be treated with respect wherever they play in the world."
Pawar and O'Connor had "instructed their respective managements to ensure that the objectives of the code were understood and implemented properly at all venues," the statement concluded.
Meanwhile, rumours that an Australian television cameraman recorded images of further racist crowd behaviour towards Symonds in the preceding match in Nagpur appear unfounded.
Matt Weiss, an associate of documentary-maker Gus Worland, said his cameras captured no such footage but did record a conversation between Worland and a member of the Nagpur crowd who, it is believed, attempted to incite the crowd into monkey chanting.
The film in question is being couriered to Australia via Hong Kong.
with AAP
the height of racism, circa 2008
