Pressure is on Beeb to drop Vaughan again after charge

BBC executives are facing pressure from within the Corporation to drop Michael Vaughan after he was charged with bringing the game of cricket into disrepute in connection with the racism scandal at Yorkshire. Sportsmail has learned some at the BBC feel the former England captain should be stood down until his case is concluded, which would rule him out of the entire summer as the ECB’s cricket disciplinary commission are not due to convene a hearing until September at the earliest. Vaughan (below) was already dropped by the BBC last November for an extended period due to allegations of racism made by Azeem Rafiq, which centre on claims he told a group of Muslim players: ‘Too many of you lot, we need to do something about it,’ before a Yorkshire game in 2009. Vaughan was taken off air when the allegations became public and did not return until March. The 47-year-old ‘completely and categorically’ denies the allegations. Vaughan’s BBC duties are currently restricted to Test Match Special and BBC2’s highlights show, Today at the Test, after he took his podcast elsewhere due to a dispute over the name. The BBC rebranded the Tuffers and Vaughan Cricket Show as The Five Live Cricket Show in light of the Rafiq affair, with Vaughan opting to leave and set up his own podcast. Vaughan is one of seven exYorkshire cricketers charged by the ECB after an inquiry into allegations of historic racism. An independent inquiry conducted last year upheld seven of Rafiq’s 43 complaints in finding he had been the victim of racial harassment and bullying at Yorkshire, but the club opted to take no action. The BBC have yet to comment on Vaughan’s future, but have a quick decision to make. He is due to be part of their commentary team for Thursday’s third Test against New Zealand at Headingley.