Fan told to cover his ‘Free Imran Khan’ t-shirt at the Sheffield Shield final in Melbourne

A fan, Luke Brown, was denied entry to the Sheffield Shield final for wearing a t-shirt with former Pakistan captain Imran Khan’s face on it. The shirt, produced by a cricket website Cricket et al, also included the ‘Free Imran Khan’ slogan. Luke was eventually let in after he wore another shirt to cover it.

Denied entry over ‘political statement’

Luke was deemed to be making a political statement with the t-shirt, though he maintained it was for a humanitarian cause.

“I was surprised,” Brown told The Age after the incident. “I understand the argument they have to deal with other situations, so it just makes it easier for them if they apply a blanket rule. They were very nice.

“I can see why they made that call, but I think it’s the wrong one. The cricket world should be getting behind him.

“It’s up to them how they enforce their rules, but if they’re going to do this, then it puts a bigger onus on them to do more on other fronts to mobilise the cricket public to support Imran Khan.”

Calls for support grow

Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has been incarcerated since August 2023 under multiple charges, which his party and supporters have maintained have been fabricated and politically motivated.

Just a few weeks ago, Greg Chappell, along with thirteen other former captains, wrote to the Government of Pakistan a letter for better treatment of Khan in prison, after concerning reports about his health surfaced.

When contacted, Cricket Australia (CA) said that the security staff were only following instructions to deny entry to any political content; Imran’s case was not considered to fall in that category.

“Given the widespread concern in the cricket community for Imran Khan’s welfare, we believe this is a humanitarian issue and will act accordingly,” a CA spokesperson said.

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