BBC pulls Vaughan radio show again as it ‘monitors’ fallout
Michael Vaughan’s regular BBC show has been pulled from the air for a second week following the row over Azeem Rafiq’s accusation that England’s 2005 Ashes-winning captain made racially insensitive comments at Yorkshire.
Vaughan was stood down from Radio 5 Live’s Tuffers and Vaughan Cricket Show on Friday after he revealed in his Daily Telegraph column that he was among those facing allegations from Rafiq – claims he vehemently denied.
The BBC announced the decision had been taken to “maintain the impartiality of the programme” as the matter was likely to be discussed in Monday’s edition.
But executives subsequently ruled that the show, fronted by Vaughan and Phil Tufnell, should not air at all, instead broadcasting a programme in which England bowlers Mark Wood and Tymal Mills discussed the T20 World Cup ahead of their semi-final against New Zealand.
The BBC last night confirmed there would be no edition of the Tuffers and Vaughan Cricket Show next Monday due to the coverage of the England football team’s World Cup qualifier against San Marino.
It declined to comment on the programme’s longer-term future, which could rest on the findings of Yorkshire’s full report into its racism scandal and any subsequent inquiries. Reissuing the statement it released on Friday, the BBC said: “The allegation against Michael Vaughan predates his time working for the BBC, we were not part of the investigation conducted by Yorkshire and we have had no access to the subsequent report. However, we were made aware of a single allegation which Michael strongly denies, and we have been monitoring the situation closely.”
A spokesperson for Telegraph Media Group confirmed on Friday that it had approached Yorkshire for a copy of their report, adding: “We take this matter very seriously.”
Fox Sports is retaining Vaughan as a commentator for this winter’s Ashes. That means he will be heard by a UK audience after BT Sport retained the rights to the series in a deal involving the use of its Australian counterpart’s audio due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions. Fashion brand Charles Tyrwhitt, for which Vaughan is a brand ambassador, said it was “aware of the allegations” against him and would be “monitoring the situation closely”. A “gobsmacked” Vaughan’s emphatic denial that he told Asian players “too many of you lot, we need to do something about it” prompted Rana Naved-ul-hasan, the former Yorkshire allrounder, to rally behind Rafiq’s version of events. However, a third player alleged to have been present, Ajmal Shahzad, said he had no recollection of Vaughan saying those words relating to a match at Trent Bridge in 2009.