Picture Credit: Twitter
The fifth Test between England and India has been under racism row as a section of Indian cricket fans were racially abused towards the final moments of the fourth day of the ongoing Test match at Edgbaston. A number of allegations were made on Twitter on Monday evening after the end of the play.
The English Cricket Board and Edgbaston have started an investigation on the allegations of racist abuse among the crowd on day four of the fifth Test between England and India in Birmingham. The allegations were made by the Twitter user and member of Bharat Army (fan club of the Indian cricket team) Anil Sehmi, who talked about how people were calling him racial slurs.
The tweet said, “Racist behaviour at @Edgbaston towards Indian fans in block 22 Eric Hollies. People calling us Curry C**ts and paki bas****s. We reported it to the stewards and showed them the culprits at least 10 times but no response and all we were told is to sit in our seats. @ECB_cricket”
The claims were emphasized by former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq, who wrote "disappointing to read". The official Edgbaston Twitter account responded to Rafiq’s tweet and said, "We're incredibly sorry to read this and do not condone this behavior in any way. We'll be investigating this ASAP."
Bharat Army also released a statement about the incident that said, “Sad to say many of our members experienced racist abuse from a very small minority of individuals. We will work with @Edgbaston to share all your feedback. Thank you to those England fans who stood by us. #BharatArmy #ENGvIND.”
Chief Executive at Edgbaston, Stuart Cain released a statement and said, “I’m gutted by these reports as we’re working hard to make Edgbaston a safe, welcoming environment for all. Having seen the initial tweets, I’ve spoken personally to the gentleman who raised them and we’re now speaking to the stewards in this area to establish what happened.”
The England and Wales Cricket Board also addressed the incident as very concerning and regurgitated their stance on racism. “We are very concerned to hear reports of racist abuse at today’s Test match. We are in contact with colleagues at Edgbaston, who will investigate. There is no place for racism in cricket,” read an ECB statement.