Usman Khawaja could be reprimanded by the International Cricket Council for wearing an unapproved black armband in the first Test against Pakistan in Perth.
The Australian opener made headlines when it was revealed he intended to wear a pair of cricket shoes emblazoned with a message supportive of Palestine but backed down over fears of a sanction from the international body.
At the Perth Test last week Khawaja taped over the message on his shoes but wore a black armband to show his support.
Players regularly wear black armbands to mark personal or cricket related deaths but they are only brought out after approval from both their cricket association and the ICC.
Despite avoiding sanction for the supportive shoes, Khawaja could find himself in trouble for wearing an unapproved black armband.
The ICC told News Corp it would not publicly discuss punishments before being made official but said Khawaja could be reprimanded for the act.
He is reportedly in little danger of missing the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne next week.
Wearing the shoes would have breached the ICC’s Clothing and Equipment Rules and Regulations which probit players from displaying messages which “relate to political, religious or racial activities or causes” in international matches.
The ICC’s clothing and equipment regulations state that when determining if a message is a “political, religious or racial” cause it would decide if it brings people together rather than “draw attention to potentially divisive political issues, rhetoric or agendas”.
A range of factors are considered including the views of the relevant individual and team, likely response in the media, if it is a one-off or an ongoing message and the purpose behind it.
“By way of example only, and without limitation, where the purpose of a message appears to be commemorative in nature (e.g. the use of a black armband or a poppy) or to serve a charitable purpose (e.g. to generate funds or awareness for a non-political charitable cause), it is more likely to be permitted; where a message appears to indicate support for a particular government, political party or individual, it is more likely to be prohibited,” the ICC regulations state.
The 36-year-old wrote “freedom is a human right” and “all lives are equal” in the colours of the Palestinian flag on his Nike cricket shoes ahead of the first Test.
Khawaja insisted the messages were supportive of all human life and he later shared a video expressing his disappointment with the ICC for banning the shoes.
“I just think that so much has happened in the past that sets the precedent I mean I’m in full support of Black Lives Matter there’s plenty of guys who have written it on their shoes before,” he told Fox Cricket.
“You know other guys have religious things on their equipment and under the ICC guidelines that’s not technically allowed but the ICC never says anything on that
“So I find it a little disappointing they came down hard on me and they don’t always come down hard on everyone else so that was probably the most frustrating part
“But at the end of the day I can’t really do anything about it all I can do is fight it appropriately I’m not going to get emotional because there’s already enough emotion in this.
“I’m not doing this for any other reason than to spread the word and speak for those who don’t have a voice and I always came in with good intentions and I’ll leave with good intentions.”
Cricket Australia backed Khawaja for using his platform to express his beliefs but said all players were expected to follow the ICC’s rules.
“We support the right of our players to express personal opinions. But the ICC has rules in place which prohibit the display of personal messages which we expect the players to uphold,” it read.
Khawaja is expected to open the batting for Australia at the MCG on Boxing Day for the second Test against Pakistan.
(SKY NEWS)
