Ross Taylor Picture Credit: ICC
Racism remains a big problem in cricket despite the strict measures introduced by the authorities. As fans returned to the stadium for the ICC World Test Championship final, so did the racial abuse towards players. Two people have been found guilty of racially abusing New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. Two fans reportedly abused Ross Taylor and were quickly evicted from the stadium.
A fan reported the incident to ICC through his Twitter handle after spotting the abuse on TV. The security officials then identified the culprits and removed them from the stadium immediately.
“We received reports of abuse directed at the New Zealand players,” an ICC spokesperson told Stuff. “Our security team were able to identify the culprits and they were ejected from the ground. We will not tolerate any sort of abusive behaviour in cricket.” The incident was reported by a New Zealand follower who was watching the action on television.
A report in ‘Stuff’ revealed that the International Cricket Council (ICC) received a complaint via Twitter from a fan watching the match on television. “There is a patron yelling abuse at the NZ team. There’s been some pretty inappropriate stuff throughout the day, including reports of racist abuse directed at LRPL Taylor,” wrote Dominic da Souza on the social media platform Twitter.
Here's the tweet which led to the investigation:
The security officials were then made aware of the individuals responsible for the act and were subsequently shown the exit door. ICC GM (marketing and communication) Claire Furlong confirmed the same to the individual who had raised the complaint on Twitter.