The fifth day of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand was disfigured by racist behaviour by a few individuals. It is learnt that the New Zealand team was at the receiving end with some racist slurs that were hurled at Ross Taylor.
The incident was brought to the notice of the International Cricket Council (ICC) by a user on Twitter. The fan claimed that he could hear few spectators hurling abuse at New Zealand players.
“Hey folks, is there anyone at the ground taking note of crowd behaviour? There is a patron yelling abuse at the NZ team. There’s been some pretty inappropriate stuff throughout the day, including reports of racist abuse directed at LRPL Taylor,” a fan wrote on social media.
@ClaireFurlong14 @ICCMediaComms hey folks, is there anyone at the ground taking note of crowd behaviour? There is a patron yelling abuse at the NZ team. There's been some pretty inappropriate stuff throughout the day, including reports of racist abuse directed at LRPL Taylor.
— Dominic da Souza Correa (@teddypaton) June 22, 2021
Clarie Furlong, the General Manager of Marketing And Communications of the ICC, took cognizance of the user’s post and promised suitable action. After few hours, she revealed on social media that the two fans, who are alleged found abusing Taylor, were spotted and removed from the stadium.
“Just to let you know, two individuals have been identified and removed from the venue for their conduct. Thanks for taking the time to contact @ajarrodkimber and I; we really don’t stand for that sort of behaviour in cricket,” Furlong wrote on the micro-blogging website.
Just to let you know, two individuals have been identified and removed from the venue for their conduct. Thanks for taking the time to contact @ajarrodkimber and I, we really don’t stand for that sort of behaviour in cricket.
— Claire Furlong (@ClaireFurlong14) June 22, 2021
“We received reports of abuse directed at the New Zealand players. Our security team were able to identify the culprits, and they were ejected from the ground. We will not tolerate any sort of abusive behaviour in cricket,” the ICC said in a media statement as quoted by TOI.
The international apex council has been quite strict while taking against unruly behaviour in the crowd in recent times. Notably, during India’s tour of Australia earlier this year, few fans were evicted from the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) for allegedly hurling racial abuse at Indian speedster Mohammed Siraj.
