During the recently concluded Australia vs. Pakistan Test match, two banners supporting Palestine were removed from Perth Stadium. Similar restrictions on such banners will continue during the second and third Tests at Melbourne and Sydney. It’s noteworthy that the mentioned banner carried the same message written by Australian opener Usman Khawaja on his shoe before the Test against Pakistan, advocating equality and freedom for all. ICC had prohibited Khawaja from wearing such shoes with a peace-loving message, but he protested by wearing a black armband on the first day of the match. The one thing that is problematic for the supporters is that there is no level playing field for the politics involved in sports. One must agree that politics and sports are two different things, but when a specific country is allowed to show its political likeness, the other shouldn’t be banned over its political views. Indian men’s cricket team wore a camouflage cap during an ODI match against Australia a few years back. The ICC remained silent on that matter. This time, Khawaja’s message of peace wasn’t allowed because it was deemed political by the cricketing elites.
Source: Pro Pakistani