Monitoring Desk
CENTURIAN: South Africa’s star leg-spinner Imran Tahir was reportedly subjected to racial abuse during the fourth ODI against India at the Wanderers on Saturday; Sport channel has reported citing Cricket South Africa (CSA).
Tahir, a Pakistan-born cricketer, was ‘verbally and racially abused by an unknown man’, the CSA said, which led to an exchange of words. Acting on Tahir’s complaint, the security promptly identified the offender and proceeded to eject him from the stadium.
Later on, a video emerged online in which Tahir can be seen embroiled in a heated discussion with a group of fans in the stands. He can be heard claiming that he was abused while some in the crowd accuse him of being a bad sportsman. CSA made it clear that Tahir did not get physical with any fans, adding that an inquiry into the incident has been launched. While the CSA did not disclose the identity or nationality of the fan accused of racist behavior, South Africa team manager Mohammed Moosajee later said that the fan was in fact from India.
“My understanding from Imran’s perspective is that he was racially and verbally abused by a certain gentleman throughout the match. He reported to stadium security stationed in front of the dressing room and two of the security personnel accompanied him to identify the perpetrator,” he said. “According to what Imran said, it was an Indian fan.”
