Former England cricketer Stuart Broad’s father and ex-match referee Chris Broad has exposed the Indian bias within the International Cricket Council (ICC), revealing that phone calls were made to protect the Indian team.
In an interview with the British daily The Telegraph, Chris Broad made several revelations about his tenure as a match referee.
Chris Broad said that the Indian cricket lobby rules over the ICC, and that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has complete control over the International Cricket Council.
The former England cricketer said that during his time as a match referee, he was instructed by higher authorities to show leniency towards India.
He revealed that he was told by the ICC to go easy on India when applying the Code of Conduct, adding that there is too much politics within the ICC. “I’m glad I’m no longer part of that system because the position has become far more political than ever before,” he said.
Broad further disclosed, “At the end of one match, India was three or four overs short of the required rate, which warranted a fine. But I received a phone call telling me to be lenient because ‘it’s India.’ We had to find an excuse and reported a smaller shortfall in overs so that no fine would be imposed.”
The former referee, who retired in 2024, said that when Vince Van Der Bijl served as ICC Umpires Manager, the referees had his support because of his cricketing background. “But after he left, the administration became weak,” Broad added.
He remarked that there is a great deal of politics in the game now, and people make decisions based on political complexities. “India has all the money and now, in many ways, controls the ICC,” he said.
It is noteworthy that during the Champions Trophy held in the UAE, India also politicized the game during the Pakistan-India clash, where match referee Andy Pycroft was allegedly used against Pakistan.
