Nel fined 20 per cent of match fee for Code of Conduct breach

South African bowler Andre Nel has been fined 20 per cent of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during his country's 5th ODI against India.

Nel was found guilty of displaying obscene language by ICC Match Referee Jeff Crowe in a hearing after play concluded in Mumbai on Monday night.

Nel was found to have breached 1.4 of the ICC Code which relates to "using language that is obscene, offensive or insulting" which includes swearing in frustration at one's own poor play or misfortune.

"While not wanting to stifle the character of a lively player such as Andre, his explicit obscene language that was witnessed by TV viewers is unacceptable," said Mr Crowe.

All Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player's match fee.

The charge was brought by on-field umpires Daryl Harper, Hariharan Krishna, TV umpire Ivaturi Sivaram and fourth umpire Ravi Subramanium.

Jeff Crowe reached his conclusion after a hearing attended by Nel, South Africa captain Graeme Smith, South Africa team manager Goolam Rajah and the umpires.