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SYDNEY - Cricket Australia says no disciplinary action was taken over the dressing room altercation between Michael Clarke and Simon Katich because it was "a private issue" dealt with internally.
CA has taken a hardline stance on off-field issues recently, including fining Andrew Symonds A$4000 ($5164) for making a derogatory remark about New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum on radio last month.
But the governing body opted not to take any action after Katich allegedly grabbed Clarke by the throat in a row over the singing of the team song after their Sydney test win over South Africa in early January.
The altercation reportedly stemmed from Clarke wanting the singing to be completed early so he could leave to be with fiancée Lara Bingle, with shocked teammates forced to separate the pair.
Fielding questions for the first time on the incident, CA chief executive James Sutherland last night said all parties had moved on and he was satisfied the players had not breached the code of behaviour.
"It's a private issue within the walls of the dressing room," Sutherland said.
"It's something that happens from time to time in sporting teams and from Cricket Australia's perspective we don't see that it's appropriate for us to be taking any action under the code of behaviour."
Sutherland said while he had not spoken to Clarke and Katich directly, he had been told the incident was well and truly in the past.
"I think in the happiest of families there are from time to time incidents or flare ups," Sutherland said.
"I think these sorts of things happen and from that point of view, as I understand it, talking to the players, they've moved on from that and I don't have any major concerns about it.
"I haven't spoken to the individual players about the matter but that I do know that people in our organisation have spoken to them and I know that they have moved on and will continue to work through whatever lingering issues they have."
- AAP
