October 18, 2007	Thursday	Shawwal 5, 1428

LAHORE, Oct 17: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has prominently displayed the ICC Policy for spectators inside the Gadaffi Stadium to discourage any incidents of racial abuse.

During the second Test match between Pakistan and South Africa here, the security officials arrested four Pakistani expatriates from a spectators’ stand for racially abusing South African cricket team members and officials.

The ICC policy which has been widely displayed near the main entrance close to the players’ pavilion states: “Spectators are reminded that racially abusive comments and action will result in ejection from the ground and possible further action such as criminal prosecution, identification by way of photography and or capturing by video camera of the images of such person and life ban being imposed on such person.”

Nadeem Akram, Director Human Resources of PCB, while talking to mediamen here on Wednesday said: “It was unfortunate what happened during the second Test and we donot want a repeat of that and have displayed the ICC policy for spectators to educate them and to create awareness among the general public.

He said PCB is strictly following the ICC policy for spectators and any one found in its violation will be strictly dealth with.

“Cricket is a gentleman’s game and we want to make sure that the matches played on Pakistani soil are controversy-free. our prompt action during the Lahore Test was highly appreciated by the visiting team and we will be maintaining the same protocol during the one-day series at different venues,” Nadeem added.—APP