ECB hosted Rafiq days before charges issued
Former player watched Lord’s Test from a hospitality box Governing body accused of ‘bias’ in case against Yorkshire
Azeem Rafiq was treated to corporate hospitality by the England and Wales Cricket Board during this month’s first Test at Lord’s, days before it issued charges over the Yorkshire racism scandal.
The stunning revelation saw the governing body accused of a lack of independence and creating the perception of “bias” in its case against the club and the likes of former England players Michael Vaughan, Matthew Hoggard, Tim Bresnan and Gary Ballance.
It followed an extraordinary attack on the ECB’S handling of the scandal by Yorkshire’s past four chairmen, who declared it unfit to expose the full story behind Rafiq’s damning accusations of abuse at the crisis county and the botched handling of them, and demanded a fully independent inquiry into the affair.
Colin Graves, Steve Denison, Robin Smith and Roger Hutton told Telegraph Sport the revelation compounded a litany of concerns each of them had over the disciplinary proceedings opened against the club and individuals charged last week over the scandal.
Those included that there had been no sign of Rafiq having been charged himself over an anti-semitic slur that emerged in November, despite him admitting to it.
His appearance in the ECB’S corporate box on day one of the first Test between England and New Zealand was confirmed by a fellow guest, who said: “The great and the good of the ECB were taking it in turns to go and sit next to him.”
Graves, himself chair of the ECB for five years until 2020, branded the governing body’s feting of Rafiq as “absolutely bizarre”: adding: “I just can’t get my head around it.”
Denison, who said he attended the Test on the same day as Rafiq, added: “I didn’t realise he was a guest of the ECB. That’s just ridiculous in the circumstances. It shows a complete lack of independence all round. Bias might be a better word to use.”
Smith said the ECB appeared to be endorsing “one side” of the case, while Hutton said: “It’s not a bright thing to do, in reality.”
That Rafiq watched the match from the ECB’S box was confirmed by a fellow guest, who said: “I was absolutely amazed to see him there, to be honest, given what’s going on and given charges that are levelled now against certain Yorkshire players and ex-yorkshire players.”
The guest said Rafiq was one of “at least 40 people” in the ECB’S box on the day, along with senior figures from the governing body, New Zealand Cricket and representatives from various religions.
“It looked like they were trying too hard to say, ‘Look at us; aren’t we completely inclusive?’, with Rafiq front and centre,” the guest said. “Trust me, the great and the good of the ECB were taking it in turns to go and sit next to him.”
Charges were finally announced on Wednesday last week over the Yorkshire racism scandal, with the crisis club and a number of individuals facing action over accusations made against them by Rafiq.
Vaughan and the county’s sacked head coach Andrew Gale both face disciplinary hearings, with former Test trio Ballance, Hoggard and Bresnan reportedly among five others facing action. Those charged stood accused of breaching the ECB’S rules on improper conduct, its anti-discrimination code, or both.
Vaughan and Bresnan have publicly denied making racially insensitive remarks, Ballance has admitted calling Rafiq “P---” as part of “banter” between them, while Hoggard and Gale have yet to comment.
Rafiq’s fellow guest at Lord’s said: “This has got the potential to blow up in the ECB’S face, and Rafiq’s face.
“The individuals who have been charged by the ECB, I suspect they will group together now and take very, very strong action.”
The ECB declined to comment, citing a policy of never talking about hospitality guests, but a source proclaimed those accusing it of a lack of independence “probably don’t understand how the regulatory process works” there.
That process involves officials from the governing body acting as investigators and then prosecutors under the oversight of an independently-chaired regulatory committee. Cases are heard by the Cricket Discipline Commission, which the ECB’S website describes as an “arm’s length” body, with disciplinary panels comprising “three independent and suitably qualified and experienced individuals”.
However, investigations into recent major scandals in other sports have been outsourced to independent QCS.
A spokesman for Rafiq referred enquiries on his client’s attendance at Lord’s to the governing body.