Rafiq: ‘Do I believe I lost my career to racism? Yes I do’
AZEEM Rafiq delivered an emotional and explosive account of his harrowing experience of racism in cricket to MPs on Tuesday, with a series of new and shocking allegations that implicate high-profile former England players.
In front of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee, the former Yorkshire spinner offered up a damning, and damaging, account of his life in the English game before the publication of a written statement escalated matters even further.
Ex-internationals Matthew Hoggard, Tim Bresnan, Alex Hales and Gary Ballance were subject to fresh claims of racial discrimination that paint a torrid picture of how Rafiq’s dream career at Headingley turned into a battle against depression.
In his published witness statement from a now-settled employment tribunal with Yorkshire, Rafiq said Bresnan’s treatment of him led to ‘suicidal thoughts’ in 2017, with a later apology from Bresnan described by Rafiq as ‘lip service.’
He restated an existing allegation against former England captain Michael Vaughan and also aired a long list of complaints against Yorkshire’s director of cricket Martyn Moxon and head coach Andrew Gale. Neither of the pair are active in their posts, with Moxon signed off due to a stress-related illness and Gale suspended pending an investigation into an offensive historic tweet.
Rafiq’s attempts to raise allegations internally at the county fell on deaf ears more than three years ago, but an independent panel was commissioned in 2020.
Its report has been roundly criticised by those who have seen it - with DCMS committee chair
Julian Knight deriding it as ‘a Venn diagram of stupidity’ - and led to Yorkshire concluding no staff members should face disciplinary action.
As well as going into disturbing details of his time at Headingley, the 30-year-old claimed Ballance’s derogatory use of the term ‘Kevin’ as a blanket term for all people of colour was ‘an open secret in the England dressing room.’ He alleged that another former England batter, Alex Hales, had named his dog Kevin because it was black. Ballance has previously admitted using a ‘racial slur’ against Rafiq over the course of a deep friendship but the latter rejected that assertion. Instead, he says Ballance coined the unwanted and offensive nickname ‘Raffa the kaffir’ and would ‘constantly talk down to me and make racist jokes, designed to
undermine me and make me feel small”. Examples involved references to corner shops, Sheikhs and being related to other Asian men.
Ballance is accused of repeatedly calling Rafiq ‘P***,’ an allegation that is also levelled individually at Hoggard, Bresnan and Gale.
Hoggard is also said to have used the phrase ‘elephant washer,’ subjecting Rafiq to such abuse ‘on a daily basis...all day, every day’ and making players of Asian heritage sit together in the changing room. During his oral evidence, Rafiq credited Hoggard with reaching out to apologise.
No such mitigation was offered for Bresnan, of whom Rafiq wrote: “Tim frequently made racist comments and was unduly harsh towards me compared to white British players, which became so unbearable that I made a formal complaint against him in 2017.”
Gale is also alleged to have used a variety of racial slurs as well using his leadership positions to subject Rafiq to “discriminatory treatment and bullying” which held back his career.
Rafiq revealed that as an aspiring 15-year-old club cricketer he had been restrained in a car and force-fed alcohol by a former Yorkshire and Hampshire player. As a Muslim this contravened his religious beliefs, though he later admitted he took up drinking at Yorkshire.
“You had people who were openly racist and you had the bystanders. No-one felt it was important,” said Rafiq.
On England captain Joe Root’s recent assertion that he could not recall any examples of racism at Yorkshire, Rafiq said: “I found it hurtful because Rooty was Gary’s housemate and had been involved in a lot of the socialising where I was called a ‘P***.’ It shows how normal it was that even a good man like him doesn’t see it for what it was.
“All we are asking for is equality, to be treated fairly regardless of the colour of our skin or the religion we follow. Do I believe I lost my career to racism? I do.”
Bresnan tweeted last night: “I must though categorically deny his accusation that I ‘frequently made racist comments.’ This is absolutely not true.”
Vaughan issued a statement on Monday denying accusations he had told four Asian team-mates ‘there’s too many of your lot.’