Australian umpire Darrell Hair will sue the International Cricket Council and the Pakistan Cricket Board for showing "racial discrimination" in barring him from officiating at the highest level, a news report said on Wednesday.
A report on BBC website said that "Hair felt he was made a scapegoat" when the ICC decided that he would not be made to stand in international matches featuring Test nations after the forfeited Oval Test between England and Pakistan in August.
Hair took objection to the ICC singling him out for such a treatment while West Indian Billy Doctrove, the other umpire on duty during the Oval Test, had been allowed to continue.
He said the PCB had influenced the ICC in getting him banned from Elite assignments, according to the website.
PCB Chairman Nasim Ashraf, however, rubbished Hair's charge.
"This is adding insult to injury. Race has nothing to do with this," Ashraf was quoted as saying.
"Hair was removed from the elite panel of umpires by the full ICC Board, which has many countries, because of his poor judgement.
"This is the most preposterous thing I have heard. This is another manifestation of Hair's mental status. It is crass for him to say a black West Indian was let off [whereas] he was a white man and therefore he was charged".
