Rafiq accused of anti-Semitism, homophobia and fat-shaming kids
Yorkshire whistleblower Azeem Rafiq today stands accused of abhorrent behaviour and racism of his own in explosive claims by former team-mates and officials
Azeem Rafiq is today accused of using abusive, antiSemitic and homophobic language during his playing career as well as ‘fat- shaming’ children in a training session.
in a series of explosive claims made by former team-mates and officials to Sportsmail, we can reveal Rafiq is alleged to have:
■ Repeatedly called a former Yorkshire team-mate a ‘Jew’ while playing in the county’s second Xi between 2007 and 2012.
■ Bullied youngsters at Barnsley Cricket Club when running a 2015 coaching session by making some children take their tops off and calling them ‘fat bastards’.
■ abused an opposition batter by calling him a ‘faggot’ in a Yorkshire Premier League game in 2009 and failed to apologise when confronted about the incident on social media last year.
Rafiq has become a powerful anti-racism campaigner since an independent report commissioned by Yorkshire County Cricket Club found he had suffered racial harassment and bullying at Headingley. Now he is facing claims regarding alleged racist behaviour of his own. Rafiq strongly denies the claims.
The 31-year- old was this week formally reprimanded by the eCB for making an anti-Semitic slur on social media that emerged last November in the wake of his accusations of institutional racism against Yorkshire.
Rafiq apologised following the publication of facebook messages dating from 2011 last year, in which he joked that former Derbyshire player atif Sheikh was reluctant to spend money on a meal out because ‘he is a Jew’.
in his evidence to the eCB, Rafiq said the anti-Semitic messages were an isolated incident, a claim accepted by the governing body’s Cricket Discipline Commission, who issued a reprimand rather the maximum sanction of a £2,000 fine available to them.
in his reasons for the judgment published by the eCB this week Chris Tickle, adjudicator for the CDC, wrote: ‘at the time of posting the messages he was a 19-year-old, and they are the only known examples of his use of that kind of language. it was a single exchange, not part of a pattern of behaviour.’
But several former Yorkshire players have told Sportsmail that Rafiq commonly used antiSemitic and abusive language while playing for the club’s second Xi, claiming he singled out one particular player for abuse on the grounds that he ‘looked Jewish’.
Rafiq was not the only Yorkshire player who used such language, which appears to have been accepted in the dressing room, but it is claimed he was at the forefront of the abuse. ‘We were in the second Xi together and if you didn’t go on a night out he would call you a faggot,’ said one former Yorkshire player, who did not wish to the named. ‘it was relentless. He may say he was just trying to fit in, but he was the ring-leader.
‘There was one player he used to call a “Jew” all the time. He said this player looked Jewish, which he wasn’t. This sounds bizarre and was clearly wrong, but it was an accepted way to speak in the dressing room at the time. azeem was a senior player in that side and was at the forefront of it.’
Rafiq is also accused of ignoring another complaint about his past behaviour while playing in Yorkshire league cricket, with former club player Paul Wilkinson telling Sportsmail that several attempts to secure an apology for alleged homophobic abuse were blanked. Wilkinson claims that the former Yorkshire spinner twice called him a ‘ faggot’ while playing for Darfield against Rafiq’s childhood club Barnsley in may 2009.
‘He called me a faggot twice while i was batting,’ Wilkinson said. ‘The umpire heard it at the time, but ignored it, as he didn’t want the hassle of reporting a Yorkshire player. He was going to be the next big thing at the time if you remember. The umpire called me last November, after the racism story blew up, to apologise.
‘i’ve messaged azeem about it several times on social media, but never had a response. He just ignores it. i never said anything to him at all to warrant the abuse. if i’d have said something similar to him i’d have got a long ban — and quite rightly. i probably didn’t understand it properly at the time, but it’s disgusting what he said. i regret not reporting it.’
Wilkinson’s account has been corroborated by the umpire on the day, Duncan Hague, who also confirmed that he’d called him to apologise after Rafiq became a national figure following his powerful testimony at a Digital, Culture, media and Sport select committee hearing last year.
‘Rafiq was fielding close to the wicket,’ Hague told Sportsmail. ‘He did call Paul Wilkinson a faggot. i did hear it, but it was towards the end of game and i didn’t want things to escalate so i said i hadn’t. i was trying to calm things down. i’ve since spoken to Paul and apologised. i rang him and we had a long conversation. i regret not saying anything at the time and i should have reported it to the South Yorkshire League. Nothing would have happened in all probability, but it would have been recorded.’
Rafiq’s former team-mates at Barnsley, whom he rejoined in 2015 after being released by Yorkshire the first time, have also made allegations of misconduct, with former chairman andrew froggett telling Sportsmail he saw
Rafiq bully overweight children during a coaching session he was running that summer. Rafiq left Barnsley at the end of the season and rejoined Yorkshire in 2016 before being released again two years later.
‘azeem was coaching a group of young teenagers as he was doing his level three coaching badge at the time,’ froggett said. ‘a few of us were watching and as he was arranging the teams he put all the bigger, overweight lads in one side, and the slimmer kids in the other. Then he said, “Come on, it’s shirts v skins”, and made the bigger lads take their tops off. We said, “You can’t do that”, and he just replied, “They shouldn’t be fat b******s”.’
another eyewitness told Sportsmail: ‘When azeem came back to Barnsley in 2015, he wanted to become a full-time coach and the club offered to assist him. He started helping out at training sessions.
‘On one occasion he took the younger players at senior training and was asked to warm them up. He set some goals up to have a football match. He then picked the sides and stated it would be skins v shirts. it became quite clear from the sides selected that the overweight lads were in one team.
‘azeem then asked them to take their shirts off. at that point azeem was challenged and stopped by the other coaches and was told it would be a child welfare issue if he made them take their tops off. azeem replied, “They shouldn’t be such fat b******s then”.’
Rafiq’s allegations led to Yorkshire and seven of their former players, including ashes-winning england captain michael Vaughan, being charged with misconduct by the eCB. a preliminary hearing will take place next week, although Rafiq has threatened not to participate if the full hearing is held in private, as is common practice.
Rafiq said of the explosive new claims last night: ‘These allegations are categorically untrue. i knew as a whistleblower i would
come under attack. What i did not expect was a never- ending, coordinated campaign of lies, which has caused serious risk to me and my family’s safety. i have been vindicated over and over again, and will not be intimidated by those who seek to silence me.’
He bullied children at a cricket club coaching session by making them take their tops off and calling them ‘fat b******s’
He repeatedly called a former Yorkshire team-mate a ‘Jew’
He abused an opposition batsman by calling him a ‘faggot’