The need for accountability - Proctor and ICC

[The Outsider]

The Harbhajan issue seems to have been solved for now. The three match ban was overturned into a meaningless 50% match fee fine and the racism charge was reduced to abuse. Harbhajan and the Indian team would be satisfied enough with the verdict, the Aussies would be relieved to see an issue which had caused them considerable grief and flak to be buried. But what about the ICC match referee, Proctor, who was behind the initial ruling? Now that everything has come to the fore - testimonies, audio evidence, video evidence etc. nothing at all seems to indicate that Harbhajan called Symonds a "monkey" except testimonies of Symonds, Hayden, and Clarke. The integrity and temper of these three men have had a question mark against them in the past. But all Proctor needed was these three wise men to make the statement to take the moral highground of having grown up in apartheid South Africa to be convinved "beyond reasonable doubt" of Harbhajan's guilt. The entire farce has been blown apart and Proctor needs to be grilled and questioned by the ICC for handing out an decision at best based on emotions and at worst bias against Harbhajan. The BCCI should carry on the battle and make sure Proctor is held accountable for his power trips which could easily have seen a player being branded racist for life based on his whims and fancies. There is also the need to address the larger issue of the powers attributed to a match referee. How is an ICC match referee qualified to delve and judge topics as grave and serious as racism? ICC match referees are former cricketers with no training in sociology, law etc. And yet they have been entrusted to make rulings based on which a person can be branded a racist for life and have a stigma against his name. This incident should not be brushed under the carpet as one of the bad days of cricket but used as an impetus to introspect and improve the system, but knowing the incompetence of the officialdom involved in cricket, I am placing my money on a nice persian rug.

[IndianRenegade]

Great post. :icflove: unfortunately, with Harbhajan acquitted who is going to raise these questions with the required authorities?

[Chandan]

Shwetabh, You know that BCCI certainly won't ask for such things. And accountability?? People living in glass house will throw stones at others? It is media which has to raise this point. I hope Sunil Gavaskar or some respected former cricketer asks such hard hitting questions and then media all round the world raising this voice together. Only then can we achieve anything!

[Mr. Wicket]

Wasn't there a similar situation a year or two back when Herschelle Gibbs was accused of racism as well? Like in this case, there was an appeal (but without so much melodrama), and thankfully Richie Benaud - who handled the appeal - saw to it that Gibbs was only slapped for verbal abuse, and not left with a racist tag. That's been forgotten by most, and I doubt anything ever happened to the match referee who gave the original ruling. I suspect the two cases will be found under that big persian rug shwetabh mentioned...

[cochise]

But all Proctor needed was these three wise men to make the statement to take the moral highground of having grown up in apartheid South Africa to be convinved "beyond reasonable doubt" of Harbhajan's guilt.

This was a strange statement from Procter...last time I reckoned, it was the South African black man that suffered under apartheid and would have been the best at discerning what racism is...and not those on the other side of the fence. I am not saying he is racist or anything...but using this as a claim to having superior appreciation of all things racist is a bit rich. You weren't the one persecuted. Perhaps he symptathised and was deeply shocked at it. Maybe though, he was a great anti-apartheid campaigner or something. Anybody know his history? Of course, some may acuse me of racism for pointing out the fact that the white man may not have the same appreciation as a black man under apartheid...such confusing times we live in...

[suma25]

Here's the full transcript: Symonds walks up to Harbhajan at the end of an over. Symonds: "Go and yell at your teammates .... You called me monkey again." Matthew Hayden: "Twice. You've got a witness now champ." Hayden approaches Harbhajan. Hayden: "That's the last time." Harbhajan: "No listen he started it." Hayden: "Doesn't matter mate, it's racial vilification mate. It's a **** word and you know it." Soon after, Michael Clarke approaches umpire Mark Benson. Clarke: "It's not the first time. He done it in India and got into strife. That's the second time he's done it." Captain Ricky Ponting walks up to Benson and gestures towards fellow umpire Steve Bucknor. Ponting: "Go and tell him. Go and tell him straight away." linkhttp://media.smh.com.au/?rid=35029 i think it does indicate that he did say the word monkey though.... whether its tampered with or not who knows?

[IndianRenegade]

linkhttp://media.smh.com.au/?rid=35029

WTF! I couldn't hear a word what was being spoken.... nor could I read the words being flashed on the screen the quality is so bad... anyone experiencing the same problems?

[IndianRenegade]

Here is NDTV's Version of the Transcript: NDTV has a copy of exactly what the stump mike picked up. Here is the conversation between Bhajji, Symonds, Hayden, Clark and Ricky Ponting. Symonds: We don't need it, do it to your teammates (on Harbhajan patting Brett Lee on his back with his bat) Harbhajan: Audio inaudible Symonds: Don't yell, go and yell at your teammates Harbhajan: Audio inaudible Symonds: (First part inaudible) what monkey, big monkey, you don't know what you've said. Hayden: You know this is a S*** word, this is racial vilification. This is the second time you're doing this Hayden: You don't know what you have done. Harbhajan: Audio inaudible (Audio inaudible when Sachin tries to calm things down) Ponting to Harbhajan: (First part inaudible) You have had it, you've had it, mate! Harbhajan to Ponting: He started it, not me. (Audio inaudible when Ponting goes to Bucknor) (Audio inaudible when Benson is talking to Harbhajan. Lip movement suggests Benson saying, "Did you say it?") Harbhajan: (Audio inaudible but lip movement suggests) "No, no, I didn't say that, I didn't say anything."

[The Outsider]

Wasn't there a similar situation a year or two back when Herschelle Gibbs was accused of racism as well? Like in this case, there was an appeal (but without so much melodrama), and thankfully Richie Benaud - who handled the appeal - saw to it that Gibbs was only slapped for verbal abuse, and not left with a racist tag. That's been forgotten by most, and I doubt anything ever happened to the match referee who gave the original ruling. I suspect the two cases will be found under that big persian rug shwetabh mentioned...

Yeah, Salil the match referee in question there was none other than Chris Broad. At least in that case the stump mikes had picked up the audio for a racist charge to be put up though I don't think Gibbs in his sentence had any racist meaning attached to it and luckily Benaud understood that and brought about a quick end to the matter. And what's going to happen to Broad. The guy has been passing one arbitrary judgement after another during his entire tenure as has Proctor. As I alluded to in my post, it's understandable to let these guys rule on mild abuse, slow over rates etc. but with no training in social sciences or law how are they qualified to make rulings on racism, a stigma which can stick with a cricketer for life.

[cochise]

Maybe he did. However, matters of legality are involved here. The Judge would not have been legally allowed to demote the offence from 3.3 to 2.8 (his legal rep is on the line) if there was any DIRECT evidence that he said it. There is INDIRECT evidence that he may have said something that was taken to be monkey by the claimant and supporting witnesses, though not impartial witnesses. So legally, there is no case to convict on the racist charge. What I am questioning here is the fairness of the hearing and sentence he received along legal standards prior to todays hearing.

[sandtest]

Shwetabh...good thoughts! Forget money lusty BCCI, I can see Aussie media and in general their mood is exactly opposite, they are crying foul now that ICC was forced to give ruling in "favor" of Harbhajan through pressure of cash rich BCCI!! what a terrible psy-ops!....just read the language of this Aussie news source--

http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,23129382-948,00.html Analyis, by Steve Larkin January 29, 2008 06:50pm HARBHAJAN Singh isn't racist, so Andrew Symonds and Matthew Hayden both must have poor hearing. That's the only conceivable wash-up if today's extraordinary events are taken at face value. But they won't be. Many will view the dropping of racial vilification charges against Harbhajan as the actions of an International Cricket Council (ICC) cowed by the overpowering wealth of Indian cricket. They'll say the ICC wilted after the Indians sooked by threatening to take their bats and balls and go home in a pique. Harbhajan's charge was downgraded to general abuse: he pleaded guilty and was fined half his match fee from the Sydney Test - about $3000. Whether the controversial Indian offspinner actually called Australian allrounder Symonds a ``monkey'' during the second Test will never be confirmed. Symonds, and Hayden say he did. Harbhajan, and India, maintain he didn't. ICC match referee Mike Procter - who suspended Harbhajan for three Test matches - says he did. ICC appeals commissioner Justice John Hansen says it can't be proven and revoked the three-Test ban. Curiously, Justice Hansen found the evidence could substantiate the lesser charge of general abuse. Why? We don't know. '8 '8 And we won't know until at least 1700 CDT tomorrow when Justice Hansen releases his full reasons - transparency within the ICC moves slowly. The hearing was not open to the media, with the evidence in the closed courtroom not taken under oath. And it was staged with a backdrop of Indian threats to abandon the Australian tour, and create a schism in world cricket, if the man nicknamed Bhajji was found guilty of the racial slur. ``If a clean chit is not given to Harbhajan, the Indian board's decision is to call the team home,'' Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president Lalit Modi told reporters in New Delhi. Coincidentally, reports of his threat arrived simultaneously with leaks from the hearing that the charge had been downgraded, and what the penalty was. Little wonder Symonds was witnessed during the day in animated talks with his lawyer. And that his captain, Ricky Ponting, was overheard telling the same lawyer: ``Just fix it''.

These are heartfelt cries of the convicts-Aussies, as they are feeling the after effects of getting kicked hard in the family jewels.:giggle:

[The Outsider]

Maybe though, he was a great anti-apartheid campaigner or something. Anybody know his history? Of course, some may acuse me of racism for pointing out the fact that the white man may not have the same appreciation as a black man under apartheid...such confusing times we live in...

Have never heard of Proctor being an anti-apartheid campaigner. And you are right about a the difference in appreciation for racism as a black and white man under apartheid. The average white person would not bother about it and get on with life as usual because none of his civil liberties are being hampered.

[Mr. Wicket]

Proctor was a cricketer, not an anti-apartheid campaigner. In the years when South Africa was banned, he played for Gloucestershire and built a reputation as one of the game's great all rounders. It didn't affect him.

[Bumper]

Proctor is merely a puppet in this whole saga. He was executing his master's orders. Speedo was pi$$sed at Proctor letting Yuvi off with a slap in his wrist (for his dissent in Melbourne). Speedo then orders Proctor to be a lot more stringent on Asian players. Proctor bans Bhajji to please his master BCCI intervenes Money talks ICC/CA let Bhajji go It is Malcolm speed who must go, not Proctor.

[Ram]

Good points made in the OP. I have mentioned before that, Mike Proctor, as an ICC appointed cricket match refree, has no business to decide which term is racist and which isnt. It is relevant to point out here that many people may still argue that the word Monkey is not even racist to begin with. This incident has definitely exposed the lack of proper well documented procedures and guide-lines that match-referees follow while handing out their judgment. It almost seems as though its left to the individual discretion of the person involved to decide which is abuse and which isnt. For example, An Asian appointed match-refree may rule that calling someone a B@stard is considered abuse while an Aussie or a NZ referee may just let it pass. Its about time they standardized all the procedures. But one things for sure though, Proctor has to pay the price for bringing a un-verifiable charge on Harbhajjan. Labeling someone as a racist is a serious accusation, something that would have stuck with Bhajji had this charge not been over-turned. Proctor has to be sacked for this, surely.

[Sachinism]

good write up swetabh someone does need to ask these questions BCCI shouldnt let proctor walk free

[Laaloo]

Proctor is merely a puppet in this whole saga. He was executing his master's orders. Speedo was pi$ at Proctor letting Yuvi off with a slap in his wrist (for his dissent in Melbourne). Speedo then orders Proctor to be a lot more stringent on Asian players. Proctor bans Bhajji to please his master BCCI intervenes Money talks ICC/CA let Bhajji go It is Malcolm speed who must go, not Proctor.

thank u there u go u have the answer

[Mr. Wicket]

It is Malcolm speed who must go' date=' not Proctor.[/quote'] Malcolm Speed must go. Followed by Proctor. :D [or maybe speed can be dumped off a pier with Proctor tied to his ankles]

[chanakya]

maybe next time when we play Australia we can say bastard is a racist word in the pre match agreement or something :D I can see the Aussies not being able to open their mouths :D

[Pancho]

These are heartfelt cries of the convicts-Aussies' date=' as they are feeling the after effects of getting kicked hard in the family jewels.:giggle:[/quote'] oh please.. it was more the blackmailing approach the indian board took that has irritated the australians. remember, we're not crying. we still celebrating winning 2 - 1. street parties everywhere. :yay: