Key PointsUsman Khawaja has been reprimanded by the International Cricket Council for wearing a black armband on the field.It comes after Khawaja was told he could not display messages of support for Gazans during a Test match.Khawaja says the armband was worn due to a personal bereavement and asked for “consistency” in how the ICC officiates.
Usman Khawaja has asked the International Cricket Council to apply “consistency” to how it applies rules, after the Australian batsman received an official reprimand by the council for wearing a black armband on the field.
Khawaja wore the armband after the global body’s rules prevented him from displaying messages of support for people in Gaza on his shoes during a Test against Pakistan.
Khawaja had the messages “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” on his boots in the colours of the Palestinian flag during training before the opening Test of the three-match series last week, which the hosts won by 360 runs in Perth.
The Pakistan-born opener wore the boots in the game, but with the slogans taped over, under ICC regulations that prohibit messages related to political, religious or racial activities or causes.
He wore a black armband, which the ICC said was a breach of its Clothing and Equipment Regulations.
Usman Khawaja in Australia’s first cricket Test against Pakistan in Perth. Tape on his left shoe covers the words “All lives are equal”. The International Cricket Council banned him from displaying the message of support for Palestinian victims of the Hamas-Israel war. Credit: Paul Kane/Getty Images
ICC claims Khawaja didn’t seek approval to wear armband
“Usman displayed a personal message (armband) during the first Test match against Pakistan without seeking the prior approval of Cricket Australia and the ICC to display it, as required in the regulations for personal messages,” an ICC spokesperson said.
“This is a breach under the category of an ‘other breach’ and the sanction for a first offence is a reprimand.”
Khawaja says reprimand makes ‘no sense’
Speaking at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday, Khawaja said the armband was worn due to a personal bereavement and the reprimand by the ICC “made no sense” to him.
“I followed all the regulations, past precedents. Guys have put stickers on their bats, names on their shoes. Done all sorts of things in the past without ICC approval, and never been reprimanded.”
Khawaja said he respected the ICC’s regulations but would be contesting the reprimand, and asking for “consistency in how they officiate”.
Usman Khawaja wore shoes displaying the phrases “All Lives Are Equal” and “Freedom is a human right” during a training session in Perth. Source: Getty / Paul Kane
He would not wear the armband again, he told reporters.
“The armband was different to my shoes,” Khawaja said. “My shoes were very obvious, and at the end of the day, I didn’t wear the shoes. I taped them up in respect for the rules and procedures, and I left it at that.”
Prime minister says Khawaja’s position ‘uncontroversial’
During a press conference in Cairns, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the position Khawaja “put forward” with the messages on his shoes was “pretty uncontroversial”.
“I think that Usman Khawaja is a great Australian cricketer and that the position that he put forward is one that I think is pretty uncontroversial,” Albanese said.
“One that all lives are equal is a sentiment that I think is uncontroversial, and I think that he’s someone who plays a really important role for Australian cricket. Usman Khawaja made his position clear, which is he didn’t see it as a political statement.”
Usman Khawaja bats during day three of the first Test match between Australia and Pakistan. Source: AAP / Richard Wainwright
Khawaja, who scored 41 and 90 in the first Test, previously said he believes the statements on his shoes in support of the people of Gaza were not political and vowed to fight the ICC.
In a video on social media, he said: “What I’ve written on my shoes is not political. I’m not taking sides.
“Human life to me is equal. One Jewish life is equal to one Muslim life is equal to one Hindu life and so on. I’m just speaking up for those who don’t have a voice.”
“The ICC have told me I can’t wear my shoes on the field because they feel it’s a political statement under their guidelines,” Khawaja said.
“I don’t believe it’s so. It’s a humanitarian appeal. I will respect their view and decision. But I will fight it and seek to gain approval.”
England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who like Khawaja is a Muslim with Pakistani heritage, was banned by the ICC in 2014 from wearing wristbands featuring the slogans “Save Gaza” and “Free Palestine”.
But the ICC did allow players to “take the knee” before international matches in support of the “Black Lives Matter” movement in 2020 and 2021.
Armband issue overshadows multicultural cricket launch
The saga has overshadowed a campaign launch close to Khawaja’s heart.
Cricket Australia released its multicultural action plan on Friday with 10 key actions including funding and support to increase multicultural representation in roles such as coaching and umpiring across all levels.
“Unless you’re a past player, unless you’ve been in the system before, it’s so hard to crack this system. It’s self-perpetuating, and the issue is that for a long time, cricket in Australia has been a very white dominated sport,” Khawaja said.
He spoke of the stereotypes faced during his career, being accused of laziness because of his culture.
“All my coaches were white Australian, all the selectors were white Australian and they didn’t really understand me or my culture.”
The cricketer said those looking to progress to the elite levels faced barriers.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said everyone needs to feel as if they have a place in what he dubbed as the nation’s sport.
“By listening to the voices of participants in cricket around the country and understanding what it is that we can do to ensure that this game is inclusive of everyone,” the minister said.
According to the new plan, funding will be available to all multicultural groups to help drive participation, attendance and engagement.
Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley conceded the game needs to be more welcoming, inclusive and fully representative of the population.
“We’ve made great progress. particularly around the pathways. And particularly kids from South Asian backgrounds are playing at junior levels but we’re under no illusions that we’ve got a huge amount of work to do, to make sure that Australian cricket genuinely represents the community we serve.”
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