MUMBAI: The Indian Cricket Board on Monday slammed the charge of racial slur on Harbhajan Singh as 'blatantly false' and described the three-Test ban imposed by ICC Match Referee Mike Procter as 'patently unfair' and unacceptable.
BCCI demanded immediate suspension of the ban on the off-spinner pending disposal of its appeal.
It also pointed out to the ICC that India had always stood against apartheid (practised in the past by South Africa) and for the Indian Cricket Board the anti-racial stance is 'an article of faith'.
"The Indian Board does not accept the findings of the Match Referee and has decided to challenge the unfair decision to suspend Harbhajan Singh as it deems it patently unfair," BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah said.
"The Board will appeal to the International Cricket Council to review the decision of the Match Referee and suspend its operation till the appeal is disposed of."
"The Indian Board realises the game of cricket is paramount but so too is the honour of the Indian team and for that matter every Indian. To vindicate its position, the Board will fight the blatantly false and unfair slur on an Indian player," Shah said.
He has also termed the events during the second Test, lost by India at the Sydney Cricket Ground amidst woeful umpiring as a matter 'of great concern' and said some of them can have a far-reaching impact on international cricket.
Shah described some of the incidents, including the altercation between Harbhajan and Symonds which resulted in the racist row, as "distressing" and "regrettable".
"The Board of Control for Cricket in India has viewed the happenings during the second cricket Test between India and Australia in Sydney with great concern, as some of these can have a far-reaching impact on international cricket," he said.
"Some of the incidents are highly regrettable considering the warm and friendly relations between the Indian and Australian Cricket Boards.
"The incident involving Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds and the subsequent hearing by the ICC Match Referee and his conclusions are, to say the least, distressing," Shah said.
He also questioned the manner by which Procter, a former South African cricketer, arrived at the conclusion that the Indian bowler had indulged in racist slur.
"The Board also questions the very conduct of the hearing as the Match Referee, before reaching his decision, disregarded the essential point of any inquiry, that it should be based on facts, rational, detached and objective," the BCCI secretary said.
Shah also said that the BCCI was all for eradicaton of racial descrmination from the game.
"For the Indian cricket board anti-racial stance is an article of faith, as it is for the entire nation which fought the apartheid policies. The Board has always fought the racist sledging of players and spectators and will continue to do so," he added.
