Melbourne: Match referee Mike Procter has been at the centre of many big controversies, including the high-profile Oval Test forfeiture, but the South African says the race row involving Harbhajan Singh is proving to be most testing for him -- personally and professionally.

"Being South African as well, and having seen the effects of racism first hand, it (Harbhajan case) was a really tough call," Procter said. "It was probably more tough and stressful than the events surrounding The Oval Test, when the match was abandoned. It has been very difficult on a personal and professional level," he was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald .

Procter said the issue at the Sydney Test was also unique because such a situation had never been dealt before. "(The Oval) was a very unusual day. Everyone in the ICC, including myself and Malcolm (Speed, chief executive), did everything in our power to make something happen, but with the rules of cricket being what they were, there was nothing that could be done. It was, in many ways, an impossible situation.

"But I would say the issues and pressures that came out of Sydney were in many ways greater. Many of the situations that come up have never been dealt with before and, at the end of the day, it is you alone who must come up with the decision. It seems drama follows me wherever I go."

Procter was in Karachi when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device outside his hotel, prompting New Zealand to abandon their tour of Pakistan.

In the subsequent year, he controversially banned then-Pakistani captain Rashid Latif for five-games for claiming a false catch against Bangladesh.

Source : PTI