YORKSHIRE WOES: SECOND PLAYER MAKES RACIST SLURS CLAIM
Faith and equality bodies demand action after second player accuses cricket club of bias
THE Yorkshire County Cricket Club has been told that the recent allegations of institutional racism made by two former players has “dealt a severe blow to the trust the BAME communities have in the club”.
In an open letter, over 40 faith-based, community and equalities organisations said Yorkshire urgently needed to investigate the claims made by former captain Azeem Rafiq and bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, with Rafiq saying the racism he faced left him “on the brink of suicide”.
The signatories, included Bradfordbased mosque Abu Bakar Masjid, JKN Institute, Raising Explores and Mary Magdalene CIC, signed the open letter, which said: “These are serious allegations which have dealt a severe blow to the trust that BAME communities have in the Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
“A beauty of cricket is that it is a binding and unifying force between people from all faiths, races, and cultures. Our shared love of the sport is something which should unite our communities and bring us together. It should never create divisions between us.
“In this country, we believe in justice and equality for all. Therefore, we call upon the Yorkshire County Cricket Club, the Yorkshire Cricket Board, and the English Cricket Board to:
• Initiate an urgent root-and-branch investigation into allegations made by Azeem, including an examination of racism at structural and institutional levels
• Implement a “zero tolerance” policy, such as those already adopted by other sports, to ensure that racism is addressed across all interactions between both members and supporters
• Work with mainstream grassroots organisations to develop educational and awareness programmes aimed at eliminating all forms of racism throughout the organisations themselves.
Last Thursday (17) Naved-ul-Hasan backed Rafiq’s claim that Yorkshire was “institutionally racist”, claiming that he was racially abused by Yorkshire supporters when he played for them.
The former Pakistan star alleged that he was subjected to racist slurs and hooting from the home crowd when he played for Yorkshire in 2008 and 2009.
“I support what Azeem said and this has been the case with me as well,” Rana told ESPNcricinfo. “I never spoke about it because, as foreigners, we were temporary and I managed to accept the way it is. There was systematic taunting. To us overseas players from Asia, when you are not able to perform, the home crowd which should be supporting us, instead start hooting and taunting us with racist slurs like ‘P***’. “If you are performing then you get all the space but, in case I was not taking wickets, the attitude suddenly started to change.
“They started to give us a tough time, giving me a smaller hotel room and there used to be a clear case of discrimination.”
Yorkshire has engaged an independent law firm to investigate Rafiq’s claims. In response to Rana’s allegations, Yorkshire told ESPNcricinfo the allegations were “very concerning” and pledged to pro
be the issue.