Cricket taunts send a bad signal

Views from around the world. These opinions are not necessarily shared by Stuff newspapers.

It is a terrible thing that a cracking game of test cricket in Sydney won’t be just remembered as one of the most thrilling draws in recent memory. Instead, it will also go down as the test match that had to be stopped while umpires and police dealt with allegations of racism by spectators.

Cricket Australia and NSW Police are investigating and, if the allegations are true, the spectators involved should be punished. This could take the form of a legal penalty if there is a breach of the Anti-Discrimination Act. Cricket Australia could also consider sanctions such as banning the spectators from cricket grounds.

Sadly, racism is endemic at sporting grounds around the world. It is not uncommon for football games in Europe, for example, to be marred by racist abuse by spectators. Australia must send a strong signal that it will not tolerate this sort of behaviour.

It is not just a matter of avoiding racism. Community expectations about what constitutes acceptable crowd behaviour are shifting. The Age believes spectators should be allowed to express themselves, but shouting out swear words after sinking numerous beers is not the way to do it.

Australian cricket has a long tradition of caustic sledging and not just from outside the boundary fence. Players are more careful about what they say, partly because it began to damage the test team’s reputation and partly because many end up playing in India’s Super League. It’s time for some fans to lift their standard too.