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[Saba Sports News] Australian opener Usman Khawaja stirred controversy during the first Test against Pakistan in Perth on December 14, by displaying pro-Palestinian messages on his shoes. Despite initially planning to defy the International Cricket Council (ICC), which prohibits political, religious, or racial messages in matches, Khawaja complied with their directive. He insisted on fighting for his right to express humanitarian views, however.
In a barefoot interview with 7Cricket’s Alison Mitchell before play, Khawaja reaffirmed his adherence to ICC rules but maintained his support for the cause. He emphasized the importance of focusing on his game while standing firm in his beliefs. Khawaja pointed out precedents where the ICC had overlooked similar actions by other players, expressing his view of the inconsistency in the ICC’s response to his gesture.
“I’m a grown man, I can do anything I want, but the ICC will just keep coming down and giving me fines, and at some point, it will detract from the game. I stand by what I said. I’ll stand by it forever. But, I also need to go out there and really concentrate on what I’m doing,” Khawaja shared. “No, I’ll try to do it as soon as possible, whenever that’s possible. I think there have already been precedents set in the past that ICC have allowed. Precedents said that players have done stuff where ICC hasn’t done anything in the past. So I find it a bit unfair that they have come down on me at this point in time where there have definitely been precedents in the past of similar things,” he added.