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Say no to racism, UCBSA chief tells fans
Gerald Majola called on the locals to refrain from hurling racial taunts at the touring Australian players.
South African Cricket Board (UCBSA) CEO Gerald Majola on Thursday called on the locals to refrain from hurling racial taunts at the touring Australian side and asked them to follow the principle of reconcilliation propagated by the country's first black President and Nobel Prize winner Nelson Mandela.
"We want to show that one can support your nation fully and vocally, without resorting to racially abusing your opponents as happened to the Proteas in Australia," Mr Majola said in a statement.
"Our icons are people like Nelson Mandela, who believes in building the rainbow nation by bringing people together through sport. We must never let this arena for Madiba's (Mandela) reconciliation of people from diverse backgrounds be sullied by racism," he added.
The UCBSA chief said while the fans were free to be loud and vocal in their support they should not follow the Australians in abusing the players.
"We want to show those people that there is no place for that kind of behaviour," he said.
The six-week long series between the two sides gets underway on Friday with a twenty20 match here and the World Champions are anticipating hostile crowds during their stay.
