NEW DELHI: Australia’s Usman Khawaja faced a reprimand from the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday for donning a black armband, as per the global body’s regulations that prevented him from displaying messages on his shoes in support of Gaza during a Test against Pakistan.
Khawaja had the messages “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” in the colors of the Palestinian flag on his boots during training before the opening Test of the three-match series, which the hosts won by 360 runs in Perth.
Despite the intention to wear these boots during the game, Khawaja couldn’t do so due to ICC regulations prohibiting messages related to political, religious, or racial activities.

As an alternative, he wore a black armband, resulting in a breach of the ICC’s Clothing and Equipment Regulations.
“Usman displayed a personal message (armband) during the first test match against Pakistan without seeking the prior approval of Cricket Australia and the ICC to display it, as required in the regulations for personal messages,” an ICC spokesperson said.
“This is a breach under the category of an ‘other breach’ and the sanction for a first offence is a reprimand.”
Khawaja, who scored 41 and 90 in the first test, had said he believes the statements on his shoes in support of the people of Gaza were not political and vowed to fight the ICC.
Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza in response to the deadly October 7 cross-border attack by Hamas has killed thousands of Palestinians.
England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who like Khawaja is a Muslim with Pakistani heritage, was banned by the ICC in 2014 from wearing wristbands featuring the slogans “Save Gaza” and “Free Palestine”.
The ICC did, however, allow players to “take the knee” before international matches in support of the “Black Lives Matter” movement in 2020 and 2021.
The second Test begins on December 26.
(With Reuters Inputs)