Fury over a cricket call

last updated 8 January 2015

Islamabad, Pakistan

A referee in a cricket match sparked national outrage this week when he accused the Pakistan team of tampering with a ball during a game against England. The Pakistan team refused to return to the field after a tea break, saying that referee Darrell Hair had slandered them. It’s the first time a national cricket team has stormed off mid-game, and the nation is mobilizing in support. President Pervez Musharraf called the allegation an insult to Pakistan. Cricket superstar Imran Khan wrote an article in the Islamabad Nation calling Hair “a mini-Hitler.” Schoolchildren have burned pictures of Hair, chanting, “Shame, shame, we want justice.”