England cricketer Moeen Ali talked his teammates out of pursuing an official complaint against an Australian cricketer who allegedly called him “Osama” during the 2015 Ashes tour, according to the team’s former head coach.
The all-rounder’s forthcoming autobiography includes the allegation that he was subject to the on-field slur during the first Test in Cardiff three years ago and has prompted Cricket Australia to investigate.
Trevor Bayliss has said Ali did not want the issue flagged up to the ICC match referee despite other players insisting he do so.
Bayliss told the Sydney Daily Telegraph: “He didn’t want it to go any further. He was happy for it [to be dealt with between the two teams]. He’s a very softly spoken sort of a bloke. He doesn’t want to create too many problems for anyone. There were other players in the team who wanted to take it further but he talked them into not taking it any further.”
According to Ali’s account of the incident, the player in question denied saying “Take that, Osama” – taken as a reference to Osama bin Laden on account of Moeen’s Muslim faith and appearance – and instead explained the comment as: “Take that, part-timer.”
He said the player in question told him: “I know what you thought I said but I didn’t say that. I’ve got Muslim friends and some of my best friends are Muslims.”
Add your comments below
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
