Key Points
- Usman Khawaja wore shoes displaying apparent messages of support for Palestinian victims of the war in Gaza.
- He has vowed to fight a ruling that he can't wear them during cricket test matches.
- He wore a black armband to show solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja has vowed to fight a ruling from the International Cricket Council (ICC) that he can't wear shoes displaying apparent messages of support for Palestinian victims of the war in Gaza.
Khawaja wore shoes with the slogans "All lives are equal" and "Freedom is a human right" written on them in red, green and black ink during training sessions in Perth ahead of Thursday's first Test against Pakistan, prompting a ruling from the ICC he couldn't display the messages during the match.
Khawaja took the field for the match against the country of his birth wearing the shoes, with the slogans covered with white tape. He also wore a black armband to show solidarity with the Palestinian people.
In a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, he said, "I will respect their (ICC) view and decision, but I will fight it and seek to get an approval."
Usman Khawaja in Australia's first cricket Test against Pakistan in Perth on Thursday. Tape on his left shoe covers the words "All lives are equal". The International Cricket Council banned him from displaying the apparent message of support for Palestinian victims of the Hamas-Israel war. Credit: Paul Kane/Getty Images
On the field minutes before he played the first ball, that he found the ICC's decision "a bit unfair".
"I'm a grown man, I can do anything I like ... They’ve come down on me at this point in time where there’s definitely been precedent set in the past with similar things," Khawaja told 7Cricket.
He told Fox Sports ahead of the match, "It makes me feel a little bit uneasy that people find those words uneasy."
"I want to look back on my career and say '...I stood up for my values. I respect what I did on the field but I also respect myself for what I did off the field."
"That to me ... means more."
Support for Usman Khawaja, and criticism
Khawaja’s teammate and Test vice-captain Travis Head showed his support on X, formerly Twitter.
He wrote, "We stand with Usman Khawaja! All lives are Equal."
Team captain Pat Cummins also backed Khawaja.
“I don’t think his (Khawaja) intention is to make too big of a fuss but we support him," he said ahead of the match.
However, former Australian player Simon O’Donnell condemned the move, telling SEN radio, "I fully respect Usman Khawaja’s beliefs personally … but while he’s representing Australia, he has no right, nil, zero to bring his personal beliefs and instil those onto others."
Federal Sports Minister Anika Wells publicly backed Khawaja’s decision.
"He should have every right to speak up on matters that are important to him. He has done so in a peaceful and respectful way," Wells said on Wednesday.
The decision by the ICC was questioned by professor Justine Nolan, the director of the Australian Human Rights Institute at UNSW.
"What counts as 'political' for the ICC is unclear as in 2020 they allowed players to take the knee to support Black Lives Matter," Nolan said in an emailed statement to SBS News on Thursday.
"Khawaja's plea that 'all lives matter' (sic) is humanitarian is reasonable, but both 'humanitarian' and 'political' are vague terms that sporting bodies tend to interpret to suit themselves."
Khawaja's was trying to be apolitical and rise above the politics of this issue, Nolan said.
"He is right, 'Freedom is a human right'. So is freedom of expression, but it is not one always afforded to athletes under contract, as, like the IOC, large sporting organisations including the ICC are hell bent on trying to control the message."
Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja at a training session in Perth earlier this week. Source: Getty / Paul Kane
Treasurer weighs in
Treasurer Jim Chalmers echoed Wells, saying Khawaja should be allowed to sport the message on his shoes, which he described as not "especially controversial".
“All lives are equal and they should let him wear them … I find it unusual that people are wanting to dispute that,” he told the ABC’s RN on Thursday.
"The lives on one side of a conflict are not worth any more or any less than the lives on the other side of the conflict."
Khawaja’s commentary comes as Israel makes a further push with its, with the number of people killed above 18,000, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry.
The recent bout of violence began following the deadliest-ever attack on Israel on 7 October in which Hamas killed around 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures, and took 240 hostages back to Gaza.
“Is freedom not for everyone? Are all lives not equal,” Khawaja said in a video posted on X on Wednesday.
"What I’ve written on my shoes isn’t political, I am not taking sides - human life to me is equal."
"The ICC have told me that I cannot wear my shoes on the field … I will respect their view and decision, but I will fight it and seek to get an approval."
Khawaja is the first Muslim to represent Australia in international cricket and has previously voiced support for civilians in Gaza on social media.
Under ICC rules, players and officials cannot have anything on their clothing or equipment without the governing body’s approval, with political messages banned.
In, 2014 England player Moeen Ali was banned from wearing wristbands that said "Save Gaza" and "Free Palestine" in a match against India.
