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Mark Vermeulen

Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Cricket has with immediate effect banned Mark Vermeulen from participating in all cricket activities after he owned up to repulsive remarks that reflect racism, prejudice and plain ignorance.

Vermeulen, who has history of disciplinary problems, made a racial slur on social media where he referred to black people as “apes”, responding to a complaint made by Prosper Utseya alleging racism in Zimbabwe cricket.

In the post made back in July, Vermeulen wrote that black people would not have any problems “if we had left them in the bush,” and Utseya might be happier if he was living “in his mud hut.”

In a statement yesterday, ZC said racism is abominable and there can be no defence for it.

“We find Vermeulen’s Facebook comment distasteful and unacceptable particularly for a senior sportsman who should have learnt from playing in Zimbabwe and abroad that there is no place for racism in sport moreso on the field of play where one may have team-mates and therefore colleagues of different races.

“This is why, as Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC), we pride ourselves in this diversity and seek to feed off it in our pursuit of excellence.

“For Vermeulen not to appreciate the humanity of another race is regrettable – to  say the least – because at the time when he was virtually an international pariah after having also fallen foul of the law in England, a non-white leadership at ZC decided to accommodate him.

“For Vermeulen to set fire to the ZC Cricket Academy and still come back and be allowed to play not just for a franchise but also for Zimbabwe and then to go public with such toxic views, says a lot about the former Zimbabwe international,” reads a ZC statement.

In 2008, Vermeulen escaped a conviction for arson because of mental illness after setting fire to two Zimbabwe cricket buildings in 2006 in protest at being left out of the team. The court found Vermeulen had been suffering from serious psychiatric problems since he was struck on the head by a ball while batting in a game in 2004.

Vermeulen was banned from playing in English league cricket for 10 years in 2011 for hurling the ball at a group of fans after they teased him.