CSA threatens racial spactators with eviction, life ban

Johannesburg, Feb 3 (UNI) Cricket South Africa has announced zero tolerance measures for unruly crowd behaviour, including evictions and possible life bans on spectators, who racially abuse players in the ODI series against Pakistan starting tomorrow.

The latest initiative comes close on the heels of the spectator-player confrontation during the recently concluded Test series between the two sides, which resulted in a one-Test and two-ODI ban on Proteas middle-order bat Herschelle Gibbs for hurling racial taunts at Pakistani spectators.

''Cricket South Africa wishes to ensure that spectators and players enjoy themselves during the upcoming Standard Bank Pro20 match and MTN ODI Series against Pakistan,'' CSA CEO Gerald Majola said in a statement.

''As a result, CSA will enforce zero tolerance measures against unruly behavior, including the eviction of those guilty parties. We will also evict, criminally charge and ban for life from our stadia any spectator who racially abuses the players or their fellow spectators or disrupt the game in any way,'' he added, making it clear that any trouble from the crowd will not be tolerated.

In addition to the new stringent measures, the CSA will also deploy more security at the stadiums.

''We have increased security at the relevant stadia and reaction teams will be on duty to play both prevention and remedial roles. We will not allow unruly behaviour from a small minority to impede on the enjoyment of the majority of spectators,'' Mr Majola said.

''These matters will be addressed on a regular basis via the public address system and the big screen to ensure that the public is aware of the need to respect their fellow spectators and the players,'' he added.

UNI