Whether you're hitting the stumps during a game of backyard cricket, heading to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for the Boxing Day Test, or watching a match while eating Christmas leftovers, cricket is part of the DNA of summer in Australia.
But while it may be one of the world's sports, played at some level in more than 120 countries, it is not immune to racism.
A video of cricket fans singing a racist chant during last month's Boxing Day Test at the MCG has gone viral online and is making headlines in India.
The video, which SBS News has not republished, appeared to show some supporters of the Australian team chanting: “Where's your visa?” among Indian fans.
Connor MacDonald is a lecturer and researcher at the University of South Australia focusing on diversity and inclusion in sports. He wasn't surprised when he heard about the chants.
“It certainly parallels other spectator racism that you see in sport in other countries, including Australia,” he told SBS News.
While some hope racism among spectators is becoming increasingly rare, McDonald's research suggests the opposite could be true.
The 2021 survey of 2,047 white participants in the Australian Football League (AFL), National Rugby League (NRL) and A-League football found racism among spectators is common, despite efforts to combat it.
At least 50 percent of AFL fans reported witnessing racist behavior in their lifetime. And 36 per cent of NRL spectators and 27 per cent of A-League Men fans had also witnessed racism in the stands.
Respondents also said racism occurred at a greater level in 2020-2021 than it did more than five years ago.
MacDonald said based on this research, “racism has become more prevalent” in recent years.
Although the study did not explicitly focus on cricket, MacDonald said racism among spectators is a symptom of society, not the sport itself.
Furthermore, cricket's colonial history also creates fertile ground for racism, especially against the South Asian community, MacDonald said.
“With cricket, however, there will be a specific racism towards the South Asian community because it has a history as a colonial sport and it is widely practiced by communities around the world – but very specifically in South Asian communities .” said.
'It's a racist joke'
“The 'where's your visa' chant in the video is a very targeted attack on the South Asian community here in Australia.”
MacDonald said it's part of a broader anti-immigration sentiment that has been echoing around the world lately.
“One that I think is currently being fueled by anti-immigration sentiment here in Australia and in other Western countries,” he said.
While some may try to justify the chant as banter, MacDonald emphasizes that there is an important difference between friendly sporting banter and racism.
“This was definitely racist,” he said.
“Look at the damage it does to the community subjected to it. It will sometimes impact the mental health of that group and even their physical safety.
“It may be nonsense, but it is racist nonsense, so we have to call it what it is.”
In 2021, Indian cricketers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were subjected to racist abuse by Australian fans. Source: MONKEY / Dean Levins
The incident is part of a wider pattern of racism on Australian cricket grounds.
In 2021, Krishna Kumar was attending the third day of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and India when he heard racist comments directed at Indian players and fans.
After the match, Kumar, a Sydney resident, lodged two complaints: one with Cricket Australia and another with Venues NSW, owner of the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
He believes his experiences helped shape Cricket Australia's racism guidelines for spectators, which were developed in partnership with the Australian Human Rights Commission.
The same year, Indian bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were subjected to racist abuse by fans after they complained of hearing racist comments while playing near the boundary rope.
The same 'visa' chant was also reportedly used in 2018 during the first two days of the Boxing Day match between Australia and India, leading to multiple complaints.
But these are not just problems in Australian cricket culture.
A landmark report from the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket in 2023 found that classism, racism and misogyny were rife in the English and Welsh cricket teams.
One of the report's commissioners said structural and institutional racism was “entrenched” in sport.
The report also noted that these issues reflected deep-rooted social problems found across the UK.
MacDonald said similar problems also exist in Australia.
“It's a colonial sport and sometimes white people can get a little territorial about those sports… It certainly comes from cultural race and broader white supremacy, but also those white fans can feel territorial about a sport that they consider their see your own sport.”
Are there laws to address spectator racism?
In Australia, federal laws exist to protect people from racial discrimination in all areas of life, including sport.
But MacDonald questions whether current codes and regulations are adequate enough to combat this problem.
In particular, he questions the policy requiring visitors to text a hotline to report problematic behaviour, something both Cricket Australia and the MCG have adopted.
“I just don't think that's enough. Placing the responsibility on other fans to have to do that [call]. Often it is the people who are targeted who are likely to notice or recognize it as racism and need to take action to resolve it,” he said.
“I think this is asking too much of the fans who are already racially subjugated, and expecting fans to be able to police themselves, I don't think is enough.”
According to McDonald's research, only 3 percent of AFL fans, 2 percent of NRL fans and 1 percent of A-League Men fans had reported using the hotlines, suggesting there is a “gap between some white fans witnessing and reporting racist incidents.”
Instead, he recommends hiring sufficient security who are culturally trained to handle racist incidents. He also recommends broader cultural change by involving more South Asian and other racial minority groups in cricket, initiatives that Cricket Australia is already undertaking.
Can the intercultural nature of Cricket promote change?
Cricket is one of the biggest games in the world.
A pre-Test day out at The Gabba, MCG or SCG might seem to promote cultural tolerance, especially with many of Australia's main competitors such as the West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and perhaps Australia's biggest cricket rival, India .
But while racism appears to be systemically embedded in Australian sport, MacDonald believes the cross-cultural nature of cricket could be the one to help promote positive change in the sporting world.
“I hope that because it has become more of a global sport, it will lead to better changes. And I think it can go in that direction.”
SBS News contacted Cricket Australia for comment.
