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During the fourth day’s play between Australia and Pakistan in the first Test, the security removed fans from the Optus Stadium in Perth for a banner emulating Usman Khawaja’s message. Notably, before this Test match, the 36-year-old had planned to wear shoes bearing the inscriptions “All lives are equal” and “Freedom is a human right,” but he couldn’t as per ICC rules.
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Usman Khawaja played the Test match at the Optus Stadium in Perth while taping over the message on his shoes and wearing a black armband in protest. He was asked to remove the inscriptions by the ICC as per their clothing and equipment regulations with the rule stating that “approval shall not be granted for messages which relate to political, religious or racial activities or causes.”
Check out the banner here:
It has been reported that Usman Khawaja seemingly put together the “All lives are equal” and “Freedom is a human right” messages in support of the victims for the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. And since he wasn’t allowed to show the inscriptions on his shoes during the Test match, the fans brought a banner on his behalf at the Optus Stadium in Perth, which was confiscated within a few minutes by the security, evicting them in the process too.
Watch the video of Usman Khawaja discussing his plan for inscribing his shoes with a message here:
Moreover, Usman Khawaja gave an impressive performance at the top of the order for Australia in the first of three matches in the Test series, scoring 41 runs in the first innings before scoring 90 runs in the second innings. His contributions were important for the hosts in getting the better of Pakistan by 360 runs within four days.
