Three men who unfurled an ‘It’s ok to be white’ banner during last night’s Big Bash match at Perth Stadium will receive a “first and final warning” from Cricket Australia.
The banner was displayed for about five minutes over the railing on the top tier near the Justin Langer Stand during Perth Scorchers’ innings against Sydney Thunder. The men took down the banner shortly after reportedly being spotted by security and were issued move-on notices by police.
Perth Stadium’s conditions of entry prohibits oversized banners and flags deemed to cause public nuisance.
The slogan is affiliated with white supremacist groups and gained prominence in Australia last October when controversial senator Pauline Hanson put forward a motion declaring ‘it’s OK to be white’.
Idiots put this sign up at Perth Stadium #BBL08 pic.twitter.com/CD58PODN5T
— Tristan Lavalette (@trislavalette) January 24, 2019
Government senators originally supported the motion before backing down and voted against it the second time around.
“Three people in question was immediately removed from the venue and they will be issued a first and final warning from Cricket Australia,” a CA spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo. “Cricket Australia takes a zero-tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour at any of our matches, which includes racial vilification.
“Our message to any fan attending a match is that if you display anti-social behaviour you will be removed and risk being banned from any cricket match across Australia, along with police action.
“We encourage anybody who may witness this at one of our matches to report the matter to security or a member of staff immediately.”