Australia’s cricketer Usman Khawaja faced a reprimand from the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday for wearing a black armband during a test against Pakistan after being prevented from displaying messages on his shoes in support of Gaza.
Khawaja had the messages “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” on his boots, reflecting the colors of the Palestinian flag, during training before the series-opening test, which Australia won by 360 runs in Perth.
The Pakistan-born opener, intending to wear the boots in the game, was unable to do so under ICC regulations prohibiting messages related to political, religious, or racial activities or causes. In response, he wore a black armband during the match, leading to the ICC reprimand for breaching Clothing and Equipment Regulations.
“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,” explained an ICC spokesperson. The sanction for this first offense is a reprimand.
Khawaja, who scored 41 and 90 in the first test, asserted that the statements on his shoes in support of Gaza were not political and expressed his intention to contest the ICC decision.
This incident echoes a similar one involving England all-rounder Moeen Ali in 2014, who, like Khawaja, is a Muslim with Pakistani heritage. Ali was banned by the ICC from wearing wristbands featuring the slogans “Save Gaza” and “Free Palestine.”
While ICC regulations have restricted certain messages, the global body allowed players to “take the knee” before international matches in support of the “Black Lives Matter” movement in 2020 and 2021.
The second test between Australia and Pakistan is scheduled to commence on December 26.
