Public hearing into Azeem Rafiq’s racism allegations set to begin

A public hearing examining allegations of racism made by former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq is set to begin on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old first spoke out about his experience of racial harassment and bullying across two spells with the county back in 2020.

The England and Wales Cricket Board brought charges against seven individuals and Yorkshire in June last year, with Rafiq succeeding in having the case dealt with in public by an independent Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) panel.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan is the only charged individual set to appear.

Rafiq has alleged Vaughan told a group of Yorkshire players of Asian ethnicity before a match in 2009 "there are too many of you lot, we need to do something about it".

Vaughan categorically denies the allegation, but two other individuals – current Yorkshire and England player Adil Rashid and former Pakistan player Rana Naved-ul-Hasan – have corroborated Rafiq’s version of events.

Rashid is set to give evidence to the hearing via video link, while Rafiq, as the key witness in the case, is expected to face cross-examination from Vaughan’s legal team.

Former Yorkshire player Gary Ballance has admitted a charge of using racially discriminatory language and will not appear, while five others with previous connections to the county – Tim Bresnan, John Blain, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Gale and Rich Pyrah – will have charges heard against them in their absence after they withdrew from the process.

Yorkshire will not participate in the CDC hearing after the county admitted four amended charges laid against them by the ECB.

The club were heavily criticised in the autumn of 2021 after they failed to take disciplinary action against any individuals despite an independent review they commissioned finding Rafiq had been the victim of racial harassment and bullying.

The Health Secretary at the time, Sajid Javid, tweeted to say "heads should roll" at Yorkshire over their handling of the matter, and the ECB withdrew international match hosting rights from the county until governance conditions were met.

Changes at board level – including the appointment of Lord Kamlesh Patel as chair – ultimately led to Headingley’s hosting privileges being restored, but not before Rafiq had presented powerful testimony to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee in November 2021 about his experiences of discrimination during his playing career.

The governing body confirmed on 7 February that the four charges Yorkshire had admitted included a failure to address systemic use of racist and/or discriminatory language over a prolonged period and a failure to take adequate action in respect of allegations of racist and/or discriminatory behaviour.

On 23 February the club confirmed one of the charges they had admitted to related to the deletion or destruction of electronic and paper documents prior to Lord Patel’s appointment.

The hearing is slated to last until 9 March, however it is expected only the first three days and Tuesday 7 March will be 'public' in the sense that journalists can report on what is said in the hearing, with the other days set aside for closing statements and private deliberation by the CDC panel.

Rafiq said last November he expected the public hearing would make things worse for him and his family but said: "I just don’t see an end to this unless that happens."

Rafiq, who left the UK amid security concerns for his family shortly after the interview, added: "My view is I’ve gone through all these processes and been vindicated, yet I and my family continue to be put through some very awful situations.

"So I’ll go in another room and I will be vindicated again, I’ve got absolutely no doubt whatsoever.

"We need to have these conversations for transparency and for closure. Let the world see it, what’s there to hide? I’ve got nothing to hide.

"Every time I open my mouth, I am damaging myself – mentally, professionally. But my view is that at some point in life, you’ve got to look past your own nose."

What are the origins of this hearing?

Former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq first alleged he had been the victim of racial harassment and bullying during his two stints at the county in interviews given in 2020.

The county commissioned an independent report and in September 2021 a summary of that report was published, confirming seven of the 43 allegations Rafiq made had been upheld.

Yorkshire apologised and accepted Rafiq had been “the victim of inappropriate behaviour”, however a month later they confirmed no individuals would face disciplinary action as a result of the investigation.

The England and Wales Cricket Board launched its own investigation and in June last year, issued charges against Yorkshire and seven individuals.

A three-person Cricket Discipline Commission panel will hear the case between 1 and 9 March in London, with Rafiq the key witness.

Who were the people charged?

The seven individuals charged, in alphabetical order, were Gary Ballance, John Blain, Tim Bresnan, Andrew Gale, Matthew Hoggard, Richard Pyrah and Michael Vaughan.

They were each charged with alleged breaches of ECB directive 3.3 – "conduct which is improper or which may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket or which may bring the ECB, the game of cricket or any cricketer into disrepute".

Will everyone appear?

Only Vaughan out of the individuals charged is set to appear. He categorically denies making a discriminatory comment in a conversation with Rafiq and a group of other Yorkshire players of Asian ethnicity in 2009.

Ballance has admitted liability in response to the charge against him for using racially discriminatory language, while the other five have said they will not engage with the process.

Gale said last year the process was "tainted" while Hoggard said earlier this year that the ECB had "failed everyone", including Rafiq, in its investigation.

The charges against those five individuals will be heard by the panel in their absence.

What about Yorkshire?

The county will not participate in the hearing either after admitting liability to four amended charges they were facing.

The ECB said on 7 February these included "a failure to address systemic use of racist and/or discriminatory language over a prolonged period and a failure to take adequate action in respect of allegations of racist and/or discriminatory behaviour".

Last week. Yorkshire confirmed one of the charges they had admitted to related to the deletion and destruction of emails and documents, which they said had occurred prior to the appointment of current Yorkshire chair Lord Kamlesh Patel.

Will the panel issue judgements in the case at the end of the hearing?

It is expected that judgement will be reserved on all outstanding charges until a later date.

If found liable, what sort of sanction could the individuals expect?

The precise nature of the charge or charges facing each individual has not been published.

Sanctions open to CDC panels where charges are found proven include, but are not limited to: a caution, a reprimand, an unlimited fine, suspension or termination of registration or an order to complete an education or training course.

Yorkshire could face a points deduction or suspension from ECB competitions in relation to the charges they have admitted.

But sanctions on any admitted or proven charges will be determined at a later date.

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