The International Cricket Council (ICC) has reportedly turned down Usman Khawaja‘s appeal over the penalty he received for donning a black armband without permission during the initial Test against Pakistan in Perth.
ICC penalized the 37-year-old batsman for not obtaining prior approval for wearing a black armband in the first Test against Pakistan. Khawaja justified his decision, explaining that the armband was a tribute to a personal loss.
As per the Sydney Morning Herald, the ICC has turned down Khawaja’s appeal against the imposed sanction.
“Usman Khawaja’s reprimand for wearing a black armband onto the field during the first Test against Pakistan in Perth will stand after the International Cricket Council rejected his appeal against the sanction,” the report said.
The tabloid cited an anonymous source associated with the matter, who preferred to stay unidentified until any official announcement is made. According to ICC regulations, players are prohibited from displaying messages related to political, religious, or racial causes in international matches.
However, they are permitted to wear black armbands as a gesture of respect for deceased players or family members, provided they seek prior approval from the ICC. Khawaja, however, did not obtain this permission.
Usman Khawaja vs ICC: An explanation of the controversy
On December 13, Khawaja attempted to express his stance on the Gaza war by sporting batting spikes with the messages “all lives are equal” and “freedom is a human right” during a training session. He sought approval to display the same message during the first Test but was denied permission. However , during the Perth Test, he was observed wearing a black armband.
The ICC responded to this by issuing a statement, stating:
“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.”
”This is a breach under the category of an other breach’ and the sanction for a first offense is a reprimand.”
Khawaja replied, asserting that there was no undisclosed motive and that the armband was worn in memory of a personal loss.
Despite the dispute, the left-handed batsman delivered a solid performance in the Test series against Pakistan. He secured the third-highest run total, accumulating 220 runs in six innings with an average of 36.67.
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