Controversial Australian umpire Darrell Hair has resigned from the International Cricket Council (ICC) elite umpires panel, an ICC spokesman said on Friday. The Australian newspaper reported on its website that Hair had quit to take up a position as executive officer of the New South Wales Umpires and Scorers Association. “He has tended his resignation to us within the past month,” ICC spokesman Brian Murgatroyd told The Associated Press on Friday. “He is under contract until the end of October and has got other opportunities.” Considered in Australia to be a stickler for the rules, his strict interpretations have caused a furor and allegations of bias in Asia. In 1995, Hair called Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan repeatedly for a suspect bowling action. He subsequently did not officiate a match featuring Sri Lanka for eight years – even though the ICC officially stated that no country can dictate which umpires officiate their matches. Hair, 55, again hit the headlines when he was removed from the umpires panel for matches involving full member nations after Pakistan forfeited the fourth Test against England at The Oval in 2006 when it was penalized for ball tampering.
