Several allegations of racist abuse in the crowd at Edgbaston on the fourth day of the Test match between England and India made on social media; West Midlands police on Tuesday launched a criminal investigation into the claims
Tuesday 5 July 2022 13:25, UK
West Midlands Police have launched a criminal investigation into the allegations of racist abuse on day four of the Test match between England and India at Edgbaston.
Edgbaston officials and the ECB are investigating the incident after claims emerged on social media of India fans being targeted with racial insults on Monday.
The claims were highlighted by former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq, who said it was "disappointing to read", and flagged several of the allegations via retweets on his Twitter account.
A reply from the official Edgbaston Twitter account in response to Rafiq said: "We're incredibly sorry to read this and do not condone this behaviour in anyway. We'll be investigating this ASAP."
A West Midlands Police spokesperson told Sky Sports News: "We've launched a criminal investigation into reports of racist, abusive behaviour at the test match in Birmingham yesterday.
"We're liaising with Edgbaston officials to understand what's happened and would encourage anyone who heard any racist language or gestures, or has video footage that could help, to get in touch.
"We're aware of images circulating on social media showing an alleged offender. We're making enquiries to identify the person and would urge him to come forward and speak to us.
"Anyone with information can message us on Live Chat through our website or call 101. Please quote crime ref 20-613293-22."
One of the India supporters at Edgbaston on Monday gave their account to Sky Sports News, saying what began as "good-natured banter" started to get "intimidating" around an hour and a half before the close of play.
"It got to the point where they were pointing at us, and looking at us, and making offensive gestures," they said.
Racial slurs were then used towards the supporters, the fan went on to say. They said they reported it to the stewards but "rather than take action, they just told us to sit in our seats".
Stuart Cain, chief executive at Edgbaston, said:
"Any form of abuse isn't acceptable in life or sport. So, I'm angry about the fact that people think it's acceptable at an international cricket event and apologise for the distress it's caused.
"I have spoken to those who raised the issue on social media, the Stewards managing the Eric Hollies Stand and the Police. There has been a great atmosphere over five days involving more than 100,000 England and India fans but when this issue was reported to the Stewards, they couldn't pinpoint where the alleged abuse was coming from so stewards and the police monitored the area until close of play.
"We have to work harder to stop abuse at its source. So, we urge fans to download the Edgbaston app which allows people to anonymously report abuse directly to the Control Room so that the stewards and police can take immediate action. There was a separate incident reported via the app yesterday, which was dealt with in less than ten minutes and led to the ejection of three fans.
"For Saturday's Vitality IT20 versus India we will be writing to all fans to remind them of our zero tolerance approach to abuse and also increasing awareness of the app through wristbands, seat stickers, messages on hi-vis jackets and increased speaker and screen messages.
"Everybody should feel safe and welcome at Edgbaston, and we will continue to work hard to deliver this expectation."
