My opinion? It's f*cking hillarious

Greame Smith was partially correct when he said "an unbelievable amount of abuse"

Unfortunately for him, it was not Panasar and Aussie crowds, but Pakistani supporters and South African players!!!

Great stuff. Not only have Aussies gotten much mirth from this incident, it has given us some nice ammo to keep aside for the future.

P.S I think Gibbs comments were racist, deplorable and he should have been made an example of. 1 year ban for mine

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eh? Says the man who thought Deano's comments about Amla were completely okay? By that yardstick, Gibbs' comments are certainly not racist; unlike Deano, he was at least provoked!

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A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes
Mark Twain

Hahaha. You have caught me out Maranello. Honestly, a 1 match ban would have sufficed.

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I dont see what Australia get out of this. It does not take away from the fact that Australian crowds are known for racist behaviour towards asian sides. Ammo, perhaps you should shoot yourself with that ammo

As for a 1 year ban, tell me you probably thought Lehman should get a 1 or 2 match ban. Fact is Lehman's comments were absolutely racist and he should have been banned from the game.

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434, world record for the shortest period. Whos choking now?

Surely there should be some way of identifying the individuals concerned and dealing specifically with them?

If 'fans' who misbehaved badly whilst watching were thrown out and banned from attending games in the future that would almost certainly stop those individuals from repeating their offences, and the example might deter others from doing the same thing.

I don't think punishing the teams for the behaviour of the 'fans' is a good idea - if we tried that then I could imagine some 'fans' abusing their own team in order to affect the result of the game, unless of course the culprits are specifically identified (in which case they should be dealt with individually).

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umeiV luphqhsesqe, all’ h luph umwn eiV caran genhsetai.

I agree Alison, but this in not unknown in the UK, soccer clubs in some instances are accountable for their supporters.
UK clubs have been punished for their fans behaviour in Europe in the past, also fans of that sport had been identified on CCTV, and banned from attending - that's the way to go.

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Ern

But what kind of punishments were they given? My issue is mainly with the idea of punishments which directly affect the results of games.

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umeiV luphqhsesqe, all’ h luph umwn eiV caran genhsetai.

Clubs have lost 'home advantage' with having to play behind closed doors, this also cost the club revenue which along with fines I don't suppose effects the results of games, but losing home advantage does.

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Ern

That's a bit strange. I heard Graeme Smith on the BBC World Service this morning (in an interview, not simply being quoted) say that "what Herschelle said was wrong". At the time, I didn't know what had been said, only that it had been considered racially abusive. I did, however, look it up in The Guardian - chosen specifically because The Guardian normally does not shy away from profane language where necessary to its reports. Earlier today, the website carried a quotation (since removed, so I cannot provide a link) which ran:

The fact that the quotation has been removed suggests that the newspaper is no longer satisfied that it is completely correct (or, perhaps, that to leave it in the public domain might prejudice ongoing proceedings), but the words above are not so very different from those suggested by other posters in this thread. In any event, the stump microphones picked up the words and these were reportedly (again, The Guardian, but no longer on the site) broadcast. It is likely that the broadcaster will have a tape which will conclusively show what was said.

If - and that, for the time being, is a condition which must stand - Herschelle Gibbs did say this or something like it, then I cannot see how he cannot be guilty of a breach of the ICC's anti-racism codes and regulations. Had he been a spectator and used the words quoted above, he would have been liable to a life ban from ICC events according to the notices which I read in the grounds in Australia during The Ashes. It seems to me, therefore, again on the assumption that he did indeed say the above or something very similar, that he has committed an offence and he should be punished for it. And to me, the comment that "this isn't Pakistan" is what clinches it. (I know he was only stating a fact, given that he was in South Africa at the time, but in the context, the whole clearly becomes a racially offensive statement. Furthermore, it does not matter who he said it to, if indeed he said it: even if he had only been speaking to Graeme Smith in the bar after the game, it would still be racially offensive.)

I note in closing that Gibbs is appealing against his sentence, not against conviction. See BBC report here. This suggests that he recognises that his remark was unacceptable, as his captain said to the BBC this morning. Given that Gibbs and Smith apparently both accept that, it seems futile for us to debate it further - although I don't want to stop anyone doing so if they wish to continue, of course!

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Money won't buy you friends. But it gets you a better class of enemy.
Spike Milligan

OF,

Ninj posted a link to the video footage of the match when the stump mics revealed what Gibbs said, perhaps you should watch that, in order to clarify what he said (as should everyone else who is still in doubt). If you hear/see that, you will come to realise that he did not say "this is not Pakistan" and said something different.