Noose reports!

International Cricket Council (ICC) is investigating Harbhajan Singh's reported outburst against Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist to nip in the bud any open conflict between Indian Board and Cricket Australia, a media report has claimed.

According to 'The Australian', match referees Mike Procter and Jeff Crowe have asked India to reign in Harbhajan.

"We are aware of Harbhajan Singh's comments and are in dialogue with the two boards (Australia and India)," the newspaper quoted an ICC spokesman as saying.

Harbhajan could be charged with unbecoming conduct, which carries penalties, including suspension, the report added.

Just like they, or rather the ICC appointed match referee Jeff Crowe did, when there were unsubstantiated reports of Harbhajan doing the "monkey scratch" at the SCG

The Board of Control for Cricket in India will ask the ICC to investigate the actions of match referee Jeff Crowe, who pursued unauthenticated media reports against Harbhajan Singh.

Many newspaper reports in Australia accused off-spinner Harbhajan of making monkey gestures at sections of the crowd during the first Commonwealth Bank Series final between Australia and India in Sydney.

Following the reports, referee Crowe proceeded with an investigation into the alleged incident, but decided to take no action against Harbhajan after inspecting all the available evidence.

It is good to note that the ICC is taking cognizance of all media reports that come its way. So here are two more media reports for the ICC's perusal

A Herald Sun report said Australian supporters shouted "Show us your visas, show us your visas" at Indian fans, interviewed by their reporters. The visiting fans described the chant as "offensive, ugly and racist".

Even some Australian fans found the chants racist.

"That is racist," a home supporter, Heath Robbins, was quoted as saying.

"It is attacking a person's country and they should be kicked out of the ground as they should for any offensive behaviour to any other people," he said.

CA spokesman Peter Young said no action can be taken against those involved in the chant because it was not reported to the police or security.

"Police have confirmed the chant took place and conducted extensive interviews with both Indian and Australian supporters and they did not find anyone who was offended," Young said.

and

Witnesses said Harbhajan, who was last week branded an "obnoxious little weed" by Matthew Hayden, was retaliating to sustained crowd abuse during Australia's innings.

It was claimed some fans taunted the divisive spinner to "show us your knot" and "get a haircut" – both references to his Sikh roots.

And just in case the ICC honchos were not aware, here is the the Anti Racism write up on the ICC website

Anti Racism and Diversity

Across the world, cricket has a rich and diverse history and regularly demonstrates its capacity to break down boundaries and draw cultures together. There is a strong tradition of fans from rival teams enjoying matches side by side and the off-field camaraderie amongst players is a celebrated feature of the game.

Against this backdrop there is clearly no place for discriminaton so following an independent report from India's Solicitor General, Goolam Vahanvati, the ICC Anti-Racism Code was strengthened in November 2006.

This Code - one of the toughest in world sport - confirms a level of commitment from the ICC and its Members to promote and encourage participation at all levels regardless of race, colour, religion, national or ethnic origin and to ensure that there is no discrimination in the sport.

It requires ICC Members to impose punishments on spectators found guilty of racial abuse, from ejection from the venue to a life ban, and deliver preventative measures at international matches.

To assist Members with the adoption of the new Code, the ICC introduced an implementation template and check list shortly after the Code was adopted and since the start of 2007 it has begun to monitor the application of these measures around the cricket world.

Members failing to uphold the Code face penalties if racist incidents happen at a venue under their control. These penalties range from warnings through to fines and the possible withdrawal of international status from a venue.

The ICC's commitment to ensuring the diversity of the sport is respected by its participants is also enshrined in the Code of Conduct for Players and Officials where on-field racism is considered one of the most serious acts that can be committed, with the possibility of a life ban for anyone found guilty of such an offence.

At the ICC World Twenty20 2007, the ICC celebrated its inaugural Diversity Day with events involving both the South Africa and Pakistan teams and young people from racially diverse communities.

Given their penchant for acting on newspaper/media reports, will the ICC act now?