The Jammu and Kashmir Police have summoned a local cricketer and the organiser of a private tournament to clarify matters after the Palestine flag was displayed during a match in Jammu. The match took place in a local tournament, and the incident was only noted after the replay from the game went viral. Officials confirmed this on Thursday, January 1.
Local cricketer in question at Jammu and Kashmir
The police said that a cricketer was batting with a helmet that had the Palestine flag shown very prominently on the front. This was a batting scenario, and therefore cameras caught it very clearly. The police then took steps to find out how and why the flag was displayed during a sports event.
“One cricketer and organizer of the tournament have been summoned for questioning by J&K Police concerning the use of the Palestine flag on his helmet during a cricket match at a private tournament in Jammu,” police said.
The event took place on Wednesday when a game between the JK11 Kings and the Jammu Trailblazers was being played. This game was part of the tournament that has been dubbed the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Champions League, which is currently going on. The event is a local one and has been characterised as privately organised. There is no connection with national or international cricket boards.
According to India Today report, the player who is under questioning is Furqan Bhat. The police are now working to get the complete background of the incident. Officials are verifying if any permissions were granted for the display of such symbols during the match. They are also looking into whether any rules of the tournament were violated in the meantime.
Jammu and Kashmir police do not take immediate action as the inquiry keeps on going
Senior police officials have confirmed that no legal action has been taken at this point in time. The gathering of facts and checking of all the details that are connected to the incident is the main concern. The questioning of the cricketer and the organizer is one of the steps that are being taken in this process.
“Police are verifying the facts and the matter is under investigation,” a senior officer is quoted by India Today.
The authorities also are trying to find out the motivation behind the flag being displayed at a sports event open to the public. There will be no future actions until the completion of the investigation and a careful review of all aspects.
In the recent past, there have been other incidents where the Palestinian flag was displayed in public and the authorities acted upon it.
Moreover, it has been the case that sporting expressions have been a source of controversy at the level of international cricket. In 2023, Australian star cricketer Usman Khawaja was banned from showing “All lives are equal” and “Freedom is a human right” on his shoes during the Test match against Pakistan. Instead, he chose to go with a black armband.
Khawaja later sported the armband during the contests of Perth and Melbourne as his way of showing solidarity with the people of Gaza. However, he could not wear those shoes with those messages at the first Test as the Cricket Australia and the ICC did not allow him to do that.
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