"No Place For This Rubbish": Cricket Fraternity United In Their Criticism Of Alleged Racism At SCG

Indian fast bowler Mohammed Siraj on Sunday complained about a certain group of spectators' unsavoury remarks and it led to the security officials and New South Wales (NSW) Police taking charge and evicting six fans from the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). After the incident, many former and current cricketers took to social media to express their disapproval of any such incidents taking place in the ground. Former India batsman VVS Laxman took to Twitter to slam the incident as "very unfortunate", adding that "there is no place for this rubbish". He further added that he never understood why people spoil the atmosphere by hurling abuse at players

"Very unfortunate to see what's happening at SCG. There is no place for this rubbish. Never understood the need to yell abuse at players on a sporting field.. If you're not here to watch the game and can't be respectful, then pls don't come and spoil the atmosphere. #AUSvIND," tweeted Laxman.

Very unfortunate to see what's happening at SCG. There is no place for this rubbish. Never understood the need to yell abuse at players on a sporting field.. If you're not here to watch the game and can't be respectful, then pls don't come and spoil the atmosphere. #AUSvIND

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) January 10, 2021

Disappointing to see that my teammates were subjected to racial abuse repeatedly in Sydney. There is no place for racism in today's world and it is not acceptable. I hope that strict action is taken against those who misbehaved. #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/pKZA9Y0gfv

— Mohammad Shami (@MdShami11) January 10, 2021

Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said that this was the not first time he had heard Australia crowd making insulting comments about players. Harbhajan said that he himself was on the receiving end of many such unruly comments while playing in Australia where spectators said things about him, his religion, his colour, among others.

"I personally have heard many things on the field while playing in Australia about Me My religion My colour and much more. This isn't the first time the crowd is doing this nonsense. How do u stop them ?? #AUSvIND," Harbhajan wrote on the micro-blogging site.

I personally have heard many things on the field while playing in Australia about Me My religion My colour and much more..This isn't the first time the crowd is doing this nonsense..How do u stop them ?? #AUSvIND

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) January 10, 2021

Tum karo toh Sarcasm , aur koi Kare toh Racism .
Very unfortunate with what some of the Australian crowd has been doing at the SCG and spoiling the vibes of a good test series. pic.twitter.com/mrDTbX4t7i

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) January 10, 2021

If you are not respecting players on field then don't come to the stadium... #Ausvsindia

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 10, 2021

Disappointing to see the purest form of the game getting disturbed by racial abuse. It's not at all acceptable. The accused should be banned for life across all stadiums. #AUSvIND

— Yusuf Pathan (@iamyusufpathan) January 10, 2021

The Indian team on Saturday filed an official complaint to the match officials after fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were allegedly racially abused by some fans on Day 2 and 3 of the ongoing third Test match in Sydney.

After Sunday's incident, Cricket Australia has issued an apology to the Indian squad and assured them of taking action as per the "strongest measures possible under our Anti-Harassment Code".

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Australia Cricket Team Mohammed Siraj VVS Laxman Virender Sehwag Harbhajan Singh Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), Sydney Australia vs India 2020-21 Cricket Australia vs India, 3rd Test