Graeme Smith cleared of racism allegations by independent panel

As per the latest developments, former Cricket South Africa (CSA) Director of Cricket, Graeme Smith has been cleared of the racism allegations against him by two independent arbitrators – Adv Maenetje SC and Adv Bishop. The same was confirmed in a media release shared by CSA on Sunday evening (April 24). The former Proteas skipper got away due to the lack of evidence.

For the unversed, Smith and South Africa’s current head coach Mark Boucher were among several CSA employees, who came under the scanner amid allegations of racial discrimination. While Boucher’s hearing is still left, Smith has been cleared of all the charges as the investigation hasn’t found enough evidence of him being racially biased against black leadership at CSA.

Boucher has been accused of racism by former teammate Paul Adams and for sidelining his former assistant coach Enoch Nkwe. It was also alleged that Smith had favoured Boucher over Nkwe while picking the national team’s head coach in 2019. Smith was also accused of racial discrimination against former player Thami Tsolekile between 2012 and 2014. However, the panel has now given the former opener a clean chit due to the lack of evidence.

CSA recognizes Graeme Smith’s contribution towards South African cricket

“The manner in which these issues have been dealt with… confirms CSA’s commitment to deal with the SJN issues in a manner that treats them with utmost seriousness but also ensures fairness, due process and finality,” said Lawson Naidoo, chair of the CSA board in an official statement.

“Now that finality on these processes has been reached, it is appropriate to recognise the extraordinary contribution that Graeme has made to South African cricket, first as the longest-serving test captain in cricket history and then as Director of Cricket from 2019 to 2022,” read the statement further.

Notably, Smith’s tenure as DoC ended at the end of last month. As far as Boucher is concerned, the former wicketkeeper-batter has denied all the allegations against him and will face a CSA disciplinary hearing on charges of gross misconduct next month.