THE racial villification charges against Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh have been dropped and the three-match ban lifted, reports says.
The ICC appeals commissioner, Justice John Hansen of New Zealand, has reportedly just released his ruling.
Justice Hansen today heard an appeal from Harbhajan and Indian hierarchy against the spinner's three-Test ban for allegedly calling Australian allrounder Andrew Symonds a "monkey'' during the second Test in Sydney.
Justice Hansen heard about five hours of evidence at the Federal Court in Adelaide from key figures in the controversy including Harbhajan, his teammate Sachin Tendulkar, Symonds and Australian captain Ricky Ponting.
Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president Lalit Modi today said in New Delhi today that India's tour would be abandoned if Harbhajan was found guilty.
"If a clean chit is not given to Harbhajan, the Indian board's decision is to call the team home,'' Modi said.
India, who completed a four-Test series yesterday in Adelaide, are due to play a Twenty20 international against Australia in Melbourne on Friday.
The Indians are then scheduled to contest a one day international tri-series from Sunday that also features Sri Lanka.
A large media throng assembled outside the Federal Court building to greet Harbhajan and others as they arrived for the hearing.
The Indians are seeking to have Harbhajan's charge and penalty - imposed by ICC match referee Mike Procter for allegedly calling Australian allrounder Andrew Symonds a "big monkey'' during the second Test in Sydney - either downgraded or dropped.
Harbhajan arrived in the company of Indian media manager Dr MV Sridhar and made no comment as he entered the court.
Soon after, Indian batsman and key witness Sachin Tendulkar arrived, dropped off by Cricket Australia chairman Creagh O'Connor.
The pair shared a joke as they entered the building at the second attempt after mistakenly starting off towards a cafe next door.
Australia's contributors to the hearing - Symonds, Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden and captain Ricky Ponting - chose to avoid the media by entering the building via a side entrance.
The hearing is expected to end for the day around 5.30pm Melbourne time.
Reporting of the appeal is not permitted but the ICC is expected to issue a summary of evidence after today's hearing.
A second day has been set aside in case the issue cannot be resolved today.
The importance of proceedings can be underlined by the fact that the limited overs portion of India's tour remains in some doubt pending the outcome.
The International Cricket Council will shortly announce its ruling in the case.
ICC appeals commissioner, Justice John Hansen of New Zealand, will detail his ruling about 1800 AEDT.
Justice Hansen today heard an appeal from Harbhajan and Indian hierarchy against the spinner's three-Test ban for allegedly calling Australian allrounder Andrew Symonds a "monkey'' during the second Test in Sydney.
Justice Hansen heard about five hours of evidence at the Federal Court in Adelaide from key figures in the controversy including Harbhajan, his teammate Sachin Tendulkar, Symonds and Australian captain Ricky Ponting.
Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president Lalit Modi today said in New Delhi today that India's tour would be abandoned if Harbhajan was found guilty.
"If a clean chit is not given to Harbhajan, the Indian board's decision is to call the team home,'' Modi said.
India, which completed a four-Test series yesterday in Adelaide, are due to play a Twenty20 international against Australia in Melbourne on Friday.
The Indians are then scheduled to contest a one day international tri-series from Sunday that also features Sri Lanka.
In the immediate aftermath of the Sydney Test, the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) threatened to abandon the tour if the guilty verdict and penalty was not repealed, and it hung in limbo for two days before the Indians resumed with a tour match in Canberra.
Last night Indian captain Anil Kumble declined to rule out the possibility that such extreme measures would again be considered if Harbhajan's ban was upheld.
Such a decision would cost the BCCI a considerable amount of money both in terms of lost revenue and the inevitable ICC sanction that would result from breaching their tour contract.
"I think we will cross the bridge when we get there so I don't want to make any comment at this point,'' Kumble said.
Relations between the Australian and Indian teams have improved noticeably since the final day in Sydney, Ricky Ponting and Harbhajan sharing a handshake early in the match and Indian players unanimously warm in their farewells to retiring wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist.
Much of the heat went out of their dealings after Kumble withdrew India's reciprocal charge, against Brad Hogg for calling Indian players "bastards'', prior to the third Test in Perth, but India's captain could not say whether the Australians were compelled to do the same for Harbhajan.
Meanwhile, angry Indian cricket board officials were refusing last night to allow new evidence in the appeal, despite the possibility it could clear the fiery spinner.
Judge Hansen revealed yesterday that previously unavailable stump microphone audio from the Sydney Test could hold the key to proving whether Harbhajan had called Andrew Symonds a "big monkey".
But Board of Control for Cricket in India officials were last night questioning why the audio was suddenly available, and whether it had been tampered with.
For this reason, they want the audio banned.
"The evidence could be tampered. It could be doctored," a BCCI spokesman said last night.
"We wouldn't allow this so-called fresh evidence to surface after so many days."
It is understood the stump microphone picked up Michael Clarke expressing his displeasure to umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson about Harbhajan's alleged comment, and Matthew Hayden's verbal attack on Harbhajan after the incident.
And a report in an Indian newspaper says Symonds is heard saying “what you are saying is racist”.
But it appears the crucial piece of evidence - the chat between Harbhajan and Symonds - was missed.
This means there is likely to be no third-party evidence the word "monkey" had been uttered.
If the audio is used, it could provide further ammunition for some Indian officials to call for the tour to be abandoned - especially if Harbhajan's three-Test ban is not overturned.
Harbhajan was found guilty at the initial marathon hearing immediately after the SCG Test, but his ban was put on hold when India appealed against match referee Mike Procter's finding.
Harbhajan still maintains his innocence.
The BCCI gets their way again. Couldn't see that coming.
AUSTRALIA's cricketers are furious that Indian bowler Harbhajan Singh has escaped suspension, after Cricket Australia bowed to pressure from India to drop a charge of racism against him.
In a brazen act of provocation, India chartered a plane to fly its players home tomorrow if Harbhajan was not cleared of racially taunting Australian player Andrew Symonds.
Cricket Australia, facing the prospect of a ruined one-day series and the loss of millions in television rights, sponsorship and gate takings, caved in to the game's financial superpower.
At a meeting yesterday morning, the Australian players were convinced by the board that the best way of getting a charge against Harbhajan to stick was to downgrade it from racism to abusive language.
This was initially met with fierce resistance by the five players involved in the hearing, who insist that Harbhajan called Symonds a "monkey" during the Sydney Test and were determined he be punished.
They still expected that a one-match ban would be imposed, and were dismayed when the controversial spinner's three-Test suspension from Sydney was replaced by a fine.
"The thing that pisses us off is that it shows how much power India has," said a contracted Australian player, who refused to be named. "The Aussie guys aren't going to make it (the accusation) up. The players are frustrated because this shows how much influence India has, because of the wealth they generate. Money talks."
India stepped up the brinkmanship yesterday by flying its one-day specialist players from Melbourne, where they are due to play on Friday, to Adelaide, so they could return to India with the rest of the side if the hearing did not go as it wanted.
With the triangular one-day series in doubt, Cricket Australia feared it would be sued for up to $60 million by broadcast partner ESPN, which beams matches into 27 countries.
Of immediate concern was Friday's sold-out Twenty20 match at the MCG, which authorities hope will attract close to 90,000.
Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president Rajiv Shukla said: "Ultimately, truth has prevailed. India has always stood against racism. Cricket is the victor in all this." Yeah...right
Late last night, Cricket Australia and the BCCI issued a joint statement, saying Symonds and Harbhajan had "resolved" the issue and intended to move on. "Both captains also said they were satisfied with the outcome," it said.
Despite that, the grave faces of the Australians at yesterday's hearing before appeals commissioner and New Zealand High Court judge John Hansen told a different story. They maintain Harbhajan is a repeat offender, having called Symonds "monkey" during October's heated one-day series in India.
In audio evidence from Channel Nine played at the hearing, Harbhajan cannot be heard saying "monkey".
But the Australians are heard remonstrating with him. "You've got a witness now, champ," Matthew Hayden tells him. "It's a shit word and you know it."
The Indian Cricket Team and BCCI....upholders of the spirit of cricket...what a f****** joke
MH Bomber...I eagerly await your views on this latest development
"You can quote me on this... He is gawn" - bomberdonnie re Hurley's contract status 25 February 2012
Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president Rajiv Shukla said: "Ultimately, truth has prevailed. India has always stood against racism. Cricket is the victor in all this." Yeah...right
This part is classic. So why was it only when Ganguly was captain that you wouldnt get a game for India unless you were Hindu? They are the most racist scum-bags in world cricket, picking players based on religion rather than performance, and they have the cheek to say that.
INDIAN cricket selector Dilip Vengsarkar has called for Andrew Symonds to be punished after Harbhajan Singh had his three-match ban for racial abuse lifted.
Vengsarkar, a former test player and now BCCI chairman of selectors, also wants match referee Mike Procter punished.
"It is a big relief, the truth has prevailed and I am very glad that the tour will go on," Vengsarkar was quoted as saying by Indian website timesnow.tv.
"I am sure that the team will perform very well. But what about the other guy, Andrew Symonds?
"I should like to know whether he will be made to forfeit anything as well.
"Procter too has failed in his duty, I want to know what the ICC will do about him."
Vengsarkar added that the Indians had not been the first ones to sledge, but would not take anything "lying down."
Former BCCI selector Kiran More, echoed Vengsarkar, saying: "Symonds should not get away."
The fallout follows India's astonishing political power-play when it achieved a court-room compromise in the Harbhajan race row last night.
Procter had issued spinner Harbhajan with a three-match ban for allegedly calling allrounder Andrew Symonds a "big monkey" in the second Test at the SCG this month.
The racial abuse charge was downgraded to that of using offensive language of a seriously insulting nature. The lesser charge carries only a financial penalty.
The Board of Cricket Control in India and Cricket Australia negotiated a compromise outcome before yesterday's appeal held in the Federal Court.
India would not guarantee it would contest Friday's Twenty20 clash or the one-day tri-series against Australia and Sri Lanka if Harbhajan's three-game suspension was upheld.
Instead, the ICC independent appeals commissioner, Justice John Hansen, fined Harbhajan 50 per cent of his match fee for the Sydney Test.
BCCI officials celebrated the verdict, which effectively questioned the integrity of Symonds's original evidence and that of referee Procter.
BCCI president Sharad Pawar said no Indian player was racist.
"We have consistently taken the stance that it's practically impossible for us to accept a racist charge against an Indian player," Pawar said. "I'm happy the judge accepted our argument."
BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla confirmed the tour would now continue.
Had it been any other cricketing nation Australia would have stuck to its guns, but again proved its subservience to the financial might of India.
CA could not afford to have India withdraw from the lucrative one-day series.
Hansen, assisted by lawyer John Jordan, re-interviewed all protagonists from the Sydney Test -Symonds, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Matthew Hayden, as well as Harbhajan and Sachin Tendulkar.
CA chairman Creagh O'Connor arrived with Tendulkar, stirring suspicion that a deal had been brokered.
"Prior to the hearing a letter signed by all the players involved from Australia and India was tendered as evidence as an agreed statement of fact as to what took place," ICC media officer Samiul Hasan said.
f*** me sideways. I mean seriously what a monumental fuckup.
Rossoneri wrote:CA are more worried about the money than the morals of their players.
I hope the players really take a stand against CA.
Trouble is Rossi, the only stand they will take is play in India for the big dollars in May this year for that one day tournament.
I would like to see all of our players refuse the big bucks on principle, but I can't see it happening.
In my eyes you can't have it both ways. If the Aussies are pissed off that the Indians are taking over world cricket, why be mercenaries & play for them like trained monkeys (can I use that word?). They would send a louder & stronger message to the world if they all boycotted this tournament.
Rossoneri wrote:CA are more worried about the money than the morals of their players.
I hope the players really take a stand against CA.
Trouble is Rossi, the only stand they will take is play in India for the big dollars in May this year for that one day tournament.
I would like to see all of our players refuse the big bucks on principle, but I can't see it happening.
In my eyes you can't have it both ways. If the Aussies are pissed off that the Indians are taking over world cricket, why be mercenaries & play for them like trained monkeys (can I use that word?). They would send a louder & stronger message to the world if they all boycotted this tournament.
Very good point. They get pait quite well as it is, but no matter how much you earn, if you have the chance to double that while working less, I cant think of anyone who would turn that down.
It will be very interesting if Australia did come out and say that they will not play in the same team as Harbajhan or something to that effect.
f*** i hate India, f*** off home for all i care!!!
dead set joke!!!!!
i say we pack up and go back to our families... let CA deal with the ramifications... now thats taking a stand that CA will take notice of!!!
god damn im pissed off
Kakadu Kangaroos
Captain of the first BomberTalk International Test Squad
BT Soccer World Cup Champion Captain of the Bombertalk Reds 3rd with 4 wins - 108.30%
(6 games) - 65 kicks, 33 marks, 52 handballs, 4 tackles, 3 Hit Outs, 2 goals
Yes, the "maa ki" got away with it. We all know that Harbhajan Singh, Sreesanth and Sunil Gavaskar should all be put in a blender with a bit of vindaloo and eaten with papadams, but they won't be because they are slimey rotten aresoles.
Gilly is the closest player, soon to be uncontracted, who will be able to give his view on the subject.
Though I find him a little too humble at stages, I feel that he will be one to speak out as soon as the Indians leave our shores, because he's about the only player who played in that test who can say anything about the incident and the Australian teams thoughts from behind locked doors without any repocussions.
Gotta love Kerry O'Keeffe. The other day during the test, O'Keeffe asked;
"Why are they getting a New Zealand judge to hear the case?"
Jim Maxwell replied;
"I guess they want someone impartial to adjudicate"
There was a slight pause before Kerry O'Keeffe responded with;
"Have the New Zealanders gotten over the under arm incident yet?"
Makes you wonder.....
Does Mike Procter get sacked now in light of this descision? If not, why not? They saw fit to sack Darrell Hair when he supposedly wrongly accused Pakistan of ball tampering.
World Cricket is f***** because of a corrupt ICC headed by that cunch Sunil Gavaskar.
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Evidence given by Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar was crucial to the success of spinner Harbhajan Singh's appeal against a three-Test ban for racial abuse of Australian allrounder Andrew Symonds.
New Zealand High Court justice and International Cricket Council appeals commissioner John Hansen accepted Tendulkar's version of events including his view that Harbhajan did not call Symonds a "big monkey".
This was accepted above the versions given by Australian players, which was the major change from the original disciplinary hearing conducted by ICC match referee Mike Procter at the conclusion of the Sydney Tests where the events occurred.
Justice Hansen, however, admitted a serious error in that he was not provided with a full list of Harbhajan's previous offences which may have altered the Indian's penalty.
Justice Hanson also denied he had come under any pressure to deliver a favourable verdict after threats from the Indian Cricket Board to abandon their tour of Australia and flatly dismissed speculation that a deal had been struck between legal counsel for the Australian and Indian players.
UN-f******-BELIEVABLE!!!
You can see my more extensive rant on this issue at Bomberblitz!!
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Evidence given by Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar was crucial to the success of spinner Harbhajan Singh's appeal against a three-Test ban for racial abuse of Australian allrounder Andrew Symonds.
New Zealand High Court justice and International Cricket Council appeals commissioner John Hansen accepted Tendulkar's version of events including his view that Harbhajan did not call Symonds a "big monkey".
This was accepted above the versions given by Australian players, which was the major change from the original disciplinary hearing conducted by ICC match referee Mike Procter at the conclusion of the Sydney Tests where the events occurred.
Justice Hansen, however, admitted a serious error in that he was not provided with a full list of Harbhajan's previous offences which may have altered the Indian's penalty.
Justice Hanson also denied he had come under any pressure to deliver a favourable verdict after threats from the Indian Cricket Board to abandon their tour of Australia and flatly dismissed speculation that a deal had been struck between legal counsel for the Australian and Indian players.
UN-f******-BELIEVABLE!!!
You can see my more extensive rant on this issue at Bomberblitz!!
Has anyone mentioned yet that this Hansen tool has come out and blamed Symonds for being racially abused... Oh no he wasnt racially abuse because the Australian players are lying about what Singh called Symonds.... All fvkin 4 of them!!
Saying that Symonds deserved to be racially abused is akin to saying a girl deserved to be raped because she agreed to have a drink bought for her...
This is an amazing load of shit the whole thing and I can not wait for our shores to be rid of this vermin!!!
