CA wants India to get police involved over crowd abuse at SCG

Cricket Australia has urged India’s players to speak to police to ensure the full story of Sydney’s crowd abuse storm is told.

Police monitor the crowd following a complaint by Mohammed Siraj of India about spectators during day four of the third Test at the SCG. Picture: Getty Images

Cricket Australia has urged India’s players to speak to police to ensure the full story of Sydney’s crowd abuse storm is told.

The six fans removed from the SCG on Sunday can have their tickets refunded if no wrongdoing is proven, but Cricket Australia has 14 days to complete its investigation under International Cricket Council rules.

CA believes police are investigating Sunday’s incident, but police sources said they were waiting for information from cricket investigators before pursuing any examination of their own.

Indian stars Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah have alleged they were targeted with racial abuse across Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the SCG, and CA officials are working hard to help co-ordinate for them and other Indian players to give their version of events to detectives.

Cricket Australia interim chief executive Nick Hockley said life bans could be handed out to anyone found guilty of racial vilification as he declared a joint investigation was under way with NSW Police.

“At the moment we are working with the NSW Police. We’re supporting their investigation,” said Hockley. “We’re also doing our own investigation under the ICC’s anti-discrimination protocols. We also have a responsibility to do that and report … We’ve got an obligation to report back to the ICC within two weeks and we’re very committed to doing so.”

There are two incidents being investigated by Cricket Australia: An alleged episode of abuse on Saturday, where Siraj and Bumrah were interviewed by ICC security chiefs after play, and the incident on Sunday when the Test match was stopped for 10 minutes and the six men were ejected.

Mohammed Siraj of India stops play to make a formal complaint to umpire Paul Reiffel about some spectators in the bay behind his fielding position during day four of the third Test at the SCG. Picture: Getty Images

Police sources and witnesses don’t believe Sunday’s incident involving the six men was racist in nature, however there is more evidence to suggest Saturday’s allegations could be substantiated.

That included the publishing of a video on Fox Sports, which some say provides muffled audio of a fan shouting “brown dog” — an allegation of abuse already reported in the Indian media.

Hockley refused to confirm whether investigators had identified alleged culprits from Saturday’s incident, however their search is helped by the fact COVID has forced every fan to register the seat they sit in with phone numbers and addresses.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said racist abuse against an Indian cricket player would be “so un-Australian” if proven to have occurred.

She said there “is no place for racism” at major sporting events.

“If those claims are correct, it is of concern and I know that most Australians would be concerned by those comments,” she said.

Berejiklian said she didn’t think Australia had an inherent problem with racism but people needed to be “vigilant”.