Click to play videoMumbai: Four Indian fans were detained at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday for making monkey gestures at Australian player Andrew Symonds.
An Australian photographer took pictures of some spectators making gestures at Symonds when he was dismissed for a duck. Police identified three men and four men and evicted them from the stadium.
Symonds, Man of the Series in the Future Cup, has alleged that spectators heckled him with monkey chants during the Vadodara and Nagpur ODIs on October 11 and October 14. Indian authorities rejected his allegations but on Wednesday the BCCI decided to act on the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) directive on fighting racism.
BCCI President Sharad Pawar and Cricket Australia chief Creagh O'Connor issued a joint statement, vowing to stand by the ICC Anti-Racism Code.
Pawar, in the joint statement, did not admit Symonds’ allegations were correct but agreed with O'Connor 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," the joint statement 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," it said.
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