Fallout: The key players, coaches and board members
The players
Azeem Rafiq Stood apparently vindicated last night more than three years after first blowing the whistle on a scandal he says left him suicidal. Yorkshire finally ended their toxic legal battle with their former offspinner on Monday and even expressed a desire for him to return in some capacity. But he could face a backlash from staff over what they branded his “one-man mission to bring down the club”.
Gary Ballance Outed as the player who admitted calling Rafiq a “P---”. A panel dismissed Ballance’s comments as “banter”, a finding that made the racism scandal front-page news after it was widely condemned. Ballance was subsequently banned from being picked for England and now faces further sanction.
Michael Vaughan England’s 2005 Ashes-winning captain revealed he had been accused by Rafiq of telling a group of Muslim players 12 years ago: “Too many of you lot, we need to do something about it.” Vaughan denied the allegation and there were conflicting recollections from those Rafiq claims were present.
Joe Root The England captain was yesterday dragged into the scandal after claiming he could not recall any racist behaviour at Yorkshire. That prompted Rafiq to post on Twitter that he was “incredibly hurt” about what he branded a refusal to accept “uncomfortable truths”.
The board
Roger Hutton The first scalp claimed by the scandal. Hutton quit as chairman last week ahead of a board meeting at which he was expected to be ousted.
Mark Arthur Chief executive resigned yesterday after the full extent of the findings against him by an investigation into the scandal were revealed, including that he squandered a chance to settle “amicably” with Rafiq when failing to pursue three separate warnings of racism in 2018.
Stephen Willis Quit shortly after Hutton. Willis was on the five-strong panel that dismissed Ballance calling Rafiq a P--- as “banter” and found Rafiq calling Ballance “Zimbo” had been racist.
Hanif Malik Resigned at the same time as Willis. An investigation found Malik had “raised concerns about racism and bullying” after Rafiq blew the whistle. But he was forced to stand down from a panel appointed by the club after Rafiq objected to his presence over the lack of action taken.
The coaches
Martyn Moxon Granted sick leave due to the stress caused by the scandal but his position became untenable after it emerged he had been found guilty by the panel of the same failings as Arthur.
Andrew Gale Suspended after an investigation was launched into a historic tweet in which he used the Y-word. Claimed not to have known it was offensive before posting it.