Harbhajan Singh has been cleared of charges of racism, and submitted instead to his usual hotheadedness on the field, insult and abuse not amounting to racism. From his readiness to plead guilty to abuse on the field during the Test match at Sydney, one can see how offensive he found the idea of being charged with racism. In fact, if there is one thing that was conveyed from Australia most unequivocally these past weeks, it is the entire team’s resolve to have this slur against Harbhajan removed. Especially the senior members of this team know what racism is, how it silently works in international sport, and when a charge — such as the one the Australians levelled — is simply just not on. So, with the charge withdrawn, upon appeal, the tour goes on happily, that story one would presume is over.It is not. The last three weeks have seen an ugliness that still attaches itself to the field of play. And that ugliness is indicative of how unreformed the international cricket establishment is. For closure, this episode does not need a head to roll for its ugliness as much as it needs a guarantee that this won’t recur. For that, Mike Procter must be removed from official responsibilities in cricket matches in the future. The manner in which he brought his own subjectiveness into play while hearing Andrew Symonds’ charge against Harbhajan is appalling. Appalling enough to suggest that his moral authority as a match referee is irreparably eroded. Procter said in his defence while pronouncing judgment on Harbhajan, “I am South African, and I understand the word racism.” It is dangerous to level charges of racism without irrefutable proof, but Procter should look at his own history to see the pattern of bias that emerges. Recall how in 2003 he banned Rashid Latif, then Pakistan’s captain-wicketkeeper, for claiming a false catch. In Sydney, what did we get from Procter when Ricky Ponting and his fielder claimed a clean catch when it had so obviously been grassed? Silence. Mark the distinction, Latif was appealing, Ponting had a batsman dismissed with his gesture, under the catching agreement. Procter is a symbol of the unreformed, colonial cricket establishment. It must be changed, the way Sunil Gavaskar changed the MCC. And Procter should recall how racism was fought in South African sport: within the national team, not against foreigners.
