Black armband protest

The black armband protest was made by Zimbabwean cricketers Andy Flower and Henry Olonga during the 2003 Cricket World Cup. The pair decided to wear black armbands to "mourn the death of democracy in Zimbabwe". The protest received condemnation from senior Zimbabwean political figures, and also some senior Zimbabwean cricket figures, but was praised by the international media. The International Cricket Council deemed that Flower and Olonga had taken a political action, but refused to charge the pair with an offence. Their initial protest was during Zimbabwe's first match of the tournament in Harare, and the pair wore armbands to protest at all of the matches. As a result of the protest, Flower and Olonga were forced to leave Zimbabwe, and both men later settled in the United Kingdom.