Harbhajan Verdict
Posted January 29th, 2008 by Nanda 1 Comment »
Judge Hansen, from New Zealand, gave the verdict of Not Guilty to the racism charge against Harbhajan Singh in a hearing that lasted almost 6 hours. After hearing evidence from the stump microphones, Judge Hansen said that he was convinced that on all evidence submitted before him the charge of a level 3.3 offence was not proven, but that Harbhajan should be charged with a level 2.8 offence.
Harbhajan admitted that he was guilty of using foul language and so has been fined 50 percent of his match fee. A lot of supporters back in India and overseas will find this justice, and it may be, but the way it has been achieved leaves a sour taste.
The initial ban on Habhajan should have been handled more professionally. When you are charging a high profile player from the biggest money-making machine for the ICC, one has to be careful and thoughtful about the possible ramifications. Mike Proctor was guilty of failing on both counts. He made the mistake of believing Andrew Symonds’ and Matty Hayden’s word against Harbhajan Singh and Sachin Tendulkar’s. When there are witnesses from both sides testifying to different things, even a common person knows that a judge needs more conclusive evidence. Proctor ignored this basic rule to brand Bhajji racist. He lost his reputation. Australia lost the battle then and there.
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