‘I was feeling stripped, I want justice’ – SCG to investigate claims by Indian fan

The SCG Test was a witness to some jaw-dropping display of cricket between India and Australia. However, the game was also marred with quite a few controversies. Mohammed Siraj and a few visitors’ cricketers had to endure racial discrimination and it raised an uproar in the cricket fraternity. Apart from the players, an Indian origin fan also claimed to have been racially harassed.

The fan’s case is currently being investigated by the SCG officials. Nandan Kumar, the fan, earlier said how a bunch of drunk supporters were continuously taking a harsh racial jibe at Siraj on the third day of the Sydney Test. This time around, he has accused the security officials of racial profiling.

Mr Kumar informed Venues New South Wales that he intended to carry four banners on the final day of the match at the iconic SCG. The banners read, “Rivalry is good, racism is not”, “No racism mate”, “Brown inclusion matters” and “Cricket Australia more diversity please”.

However, he was, thereafter, requested to go away by a security official. “He told me, ‘If you need to address this matter, go back to where you belong. It was a very small banner. I made it out of my kids’ paper roll,” Kumar was quoted as saying in Sydney Morning Herald.

To me this a pure case of profiling: Indian fan

He was asked to empty his bag and a metal detector was used against him as well. Kumar mentioned that he finally got a seat in Bay 11 of the Victor Trumper Stand, but extra security was added for him.

The officials used a female guard of Indian origin to observe if he was “using any other language”. “To me this a pure case of profiling. They changed their entire formation so the guy next to the boundary is standing right in front of me and facing me,” he stated.

“I’m not looking for compensation, I’m not looking for free tickets, I’m not looking for a membership. I want justice. I want accountability. I was feeling stripped, feeling watched and I went there to fight racism.

“Why ought to I be stopped from addressing racism, particularly at a floor the place it was debatable whether or not it was taking place or not?” Kumar added.

A Venues NSW mentioned that it was “aware of the matter and has met with the complainant”. “We are investigating the complainant’s allegations and we’ll make no further comment until our investigation is complete,” a spokesperson stated.