Yorkshire banned from hosting England games as crisis deepens
Yorkshire were last night banned from staging England matches and other showpiece games after finally being held to account over the “abhorrent” racism scandal engulfing the county.
The England and Wales Cricket Board bowed to intense pressure that “heads should roll” at the country’s biggest county over their handling of an unprecedented crisis that has brought shame on the game. Following an emergency meeting of its board, the ECB suspended Yorkshire from hosting “international or major matches” until they had demonstrated they could “meet the standards expected of an international venue, ECB member and first-class county”.
On another day of drama:
➤ Michael Vaughan, England’s 2005 Ashes-winning captain, revealed he had been named in Yorkshire’s report into the scandal, but emphatically denied accusations of racism.
➤ Roger Hutton is on the brink of being ousted as the county’s chairman at a board meeting today.
➤ Gary Ballance was banned from playing for England after admitting calling Azeem Rafiq a “P--i” in what a panel had dismissed as “banter”.
➤ Kit supplier Nike became the biggest firm yet to cut ties with the disgraced club, as more sponsors walked away in disgust.
➤ Another former player, of Asian heritage, came forward to allege he had suffered racist abuse “blatant and sly” during his time with the club in the early 2000s, according to the Daily Mail.
But it was being banned from staging England matches that would have sent shockwaves through Headingley, the scene of some of the country’s most iconic triumphs.
Although Yorkshire were not the first club on which such a sanction has been imposed – Durham were stripped of Test venue status five years ago after receiving a financial bailout – they were the first to lose out following a racism scandal.
They stand to lose two matches they had only recently been awarded, June’s second Test against New Zealand and July’s third oneday international against South Africa. That could cost the club millions, with Headingley having made £6.6 million in 2019 when Ben Stokes produced one of the greatest innings of all time to win England the Ashes Test match there. The ECB
said: “It is clear to the board that Yorkshire’s handling of the issues raised by Azeem Rafiq is wholly unacceptable and is causing serious damage to the reputation of the game. The ECB find this matter abhorrent and against the spirit of cricket and its values. There is no place for racism or any form of discrimination in cricket and where it is found, swift action must be taken.
This matter must be dealt with robustly if the sport is to demonstrate its commitment to truly being a game for everyone.
“The ECB will, therefore, hold Yorkshire to account in relation to their handling of the matter. It is clear there are serious questions regarding the governance and management of Yorkshire. The club’s failure in relation to actions and responses to their own report represent a significant breach of its obligations to the game.”
The ECB acted two days after announcing its own investigation into the saga, prompted by Yorkshire finally handing over the report from their own inquiry under the threat of sanctions that have been imposed anyway.
The ECB added: “Discrimination of any kind on the field of play, in the dressing room, in the stands, or in the boardroom is intolerable in sport or indeed, society. Cricket must work together to eradicate it.”
The news was followed by Vaughan – an England icon, Daily Telegraph columnist and pundit for the BBC – revealing Rafiq had accused him of telling three Asian players that “there are too many of you lot, we need to do something about it” before a match against Nottinghamshire in 2009.
In the report commissioned by Yorkshire to examine Rafiq’s claims of systemic racism, extracts of which have been seen by The Telegraph, Rafiq alleged: “To Michael Vaughan, this was classified as banter. To me, it is racism.” Writing in today’s Telegraph, Vaughan responded: “I completely and categorically deny that I ever said those words.”. Yorkshire called a board meeting for today, at which chairman Hutton was facing removal, although he could yet jump before he is pushed.
The Telegraph has been told any board member opposing Hutton’s exit also faced being forced out. The beleaguered figurehead, who has failed to convince colleagues to publish the racism report, could be replaced by former chairman Colin Graves. Ballance, meanwhile, was banned by the ECB after admitting directing a “racial slur” at former team-mate Rafiq. The 31-year-old has not played for his country since 2017 and his ban was purely symbolic. Yorkshire do not play again until the spring, so stopping him from turning out for his county would not have made him miss any cricket.
Responding to the sanctions, last night Rafiq said: “I need a little time to reflect on what the ECB has said and the actions they’re proposing to take.”