Police probe racism in Scots cricket as 400 people give evidence
Sport hit by claims of institutional bigotry and misogyny
POLICE have been called in after more than 400 people contributed to an investigation into racism in Scottish cricket.
The review was launched after claims from Scottish player Majid Haq that there was a culture of ‘institutional racism’ at governing body Cricket Scotland.
The allegations by Mr Haq – Scotland’s all-time leading wicket-taker – came amid the fallout from the row over allegations of racism involving Yorkshire County Cricket Club from bowler Azeem Rafiq.
Consultants Plan4Sport were instructed to carry out the review in December by sportscotland, the country’s national agency for sport,
A recommendations report is due to be published in July, with sportscotland having already committed to ‘holding the governing body and its associations to account on all areas of its implementation’.
Plan4Sport yesterday issued an interim update, which confirmed that its team of nine consultants had spoken to more than 200 people, with another 200 or so responding to an anonymous online survey.
Louise Tideswell, its managing director, said: ‘Our team has now listened to, and engaged with, hundreds of people, and where appropriate, action has already been taken. That has included referrals to Children First and Police Scotland as well as HR and legal experts, to ensure that people’s disclosures are investigated fully and that appropriate action is taken immediately, where needed, rather than waiting to report racism at the end of the review.
‘Plan4Sport will continue to report incidents of racism until the review has concluded in late July 2022. We want to be clear that the role of Plan4Sport is to carry out this review into the allegations of racism within cricket in Scotland.
We are continuing our work in this area, and it remains our most pressing priority.
‘However, it is also our role to signpost to specialists where it is applicable. Having talked with so many people, the review has surfaced other issues including misogyny, leadership and governance concerns. These issues will be reported separately at a later date and do not detract in any way from the focus of the review specifically into racism.’
Cricket Scotland is recruiting for a chief executive after Gus Mackay left his role in March, three months after it emerged he had been advised to stay away from work amid allegations he presided over a ‘bullying culture’.
Last night Sue Strachan, interim chair of Cricket Scotland, said: ‘Rebuilding trust is a key priority for us and we have begun to reach out to those who have been directly affected by racism in the sport. We accept that we have a lot of work to do and we want to move forward.
‘We have already started to implement a programme of EDI [equality, diversity and inclusion] education for our staff, board and council members.
‘We have also been working with sportscotland and Plan4Sport to ensure we reach a wider, more diverse audience in our search for our new CEO. The racism review will continue to be the top priority and focus of our interim CEO.’
Stewart Harris, chief executive of sportscotland, said: ‘The review is ongoing and there is still an opportunity to contribute. It is vital that the review team hear from those who have experienced or witnessed racism, inequalities or discrimination within cricket, so if you haven’t come forward, then please do so.’
In response to the update, Mr Haq said: ‘When I first spoke out about Cricket Scotland being institutionally racist, I had no idea things were so bad.
‘After reading the interim report, it looks even more damaging than I could possibly have imagined.
‘The involvement of the police is particularly concerning, as is the number of people who have come forward.
‘From a personal point of view, I would like to see people being named and held accountable for their actions and punished for allowing racism to continue.’
‘More damaging than I imagined’