Michael Vaughan to Matthew Hoggard: Players Azeem Rafiq has accused of racism
Former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq has blown the lid off rampant racism that allegedly exists at one of the most famous county clubs in English cricket.
In an interview to ESPN Cricinfo in September 2020, Rafiq said that "institutional racism" at Yorkshire County Cricket Club left him on the brink of suicide. Since his initial revelations, a lot more shocking claims have come to the fore. A number of big names of English cricket have been dragged into the controversy that has sullied Yorkshire’s reputation.
On Tuesday (November 16), Rafiq opened up about some of the troubling incidents that took place during his stints with Yorkshire. He made these revelations at the Digital Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) selection committee hearing.
During the emotional hearing, Rafiq lamented that inhuman racist abuse had cost him his cricket career.
Azeem Rafiq’s shocking claims about racism at Yorkshire
Rafiq’s heartfelt testimony laid out the hardships he faced during his playing days at Yorkshire. In the wake of his words, we look at the details of accusations the 30-year-old has made about some prominent names in England cricket.
#1 Michael Vaughan’s “too many of you lot” statement
Rafiq accused former England and Yorkshire cricketer Michael Vaughan of saying "there are too many of you lot, we need to do something about it” during a 2009 game against Nottinghamshire. Vaughan was allegedly referring to the Asian origins of Rafiq, Adil Rashid, Ajmal Shahzad and Rana Naved.
"He probably doesn't remember it because it doesn't mean anything to him."
Azeem Rafiq says Michael Vaughan may not remember making a racist comment towards a group of Yorkshire's Asian players in 2009 - an accusation Vaughan strongly denies.
While Vaughan sympathized with Rafiq, he refused to accept the allegations despite Rashid and Naved corroborating the claims. Responding to Vaughan’s refusal to acknowledge that he had made the controversial statement, Rafiq said:
“He may not remember it because it doesn’t mean anything to him, but three of the four Asian players he mentioned do remember it. He then used his platform (newspaper column) to discredit me. He seems to have taken the same stance as the club - deny, deny, deny.”
#2 Gary Ballance’s unbearable "P***" taunts
Rafiq alleged that England and Yorkshire batter Gary Ballance referred to him as ‘p***’ on multiple occasions. Speaking at the hearing, he recalled:
“Gary would regularly make belittling or derogatory comments about my Pakistani heritage like ‘don’t talk to him, he’s a P***’. Or ‘Why are you talking to him, he’s a P***?’ It became unbearable. This happened in front of teammates. It happened in front of coaching staff.”
Rafiq further alleged that the Yorkshire club protected Ballance with respect to his “drug and alcohol issues”. While Ballance admitted that he used derogatory words while referring to the Pakistan-born cricket, he termed it as "banter" while issuing an apology.
He also denied the claims with regards to the drug and alcohol allegations.
#3 Alex Hales named his dog “Kevin”
Alex Hales is no stranger to controversies. Amid the uncertainty over his England future, the hard-hitting batter finds himself in the midst of another storm. Rafiq alleged that Hales naming his dog “Kevin” had a racial connotation.
According to the former off-spinner, Ballance's derogatory use of the term “Kevin” as a blanket term for all people of color was "an open secret in the England dressing room."
Hales has, however, denied the claim. Releasing a statement, he clarified:
“Having heard the allegations made against me, I categorically and absolutely deny there was any racial connotation in the naming of my dog.”
#4 When David Lloyd said, “Asian players don’t go in there”
Former England cricketer David Lloyd has made a name for himself as a charming commentator and analyst. However, his name too figures in the racism controversy.
Rafiq alleged that Lloyd and a few other media persons once had a discussion during which the former cricketer stated that "a clubhouse is the lifeblood of a club and Asian players don't go in there."
Lloyd has accepted the claim and has tendered an apology over the same. Regretting his actions, the cricket expert said in a statement:
“In October 2020, I had a private message exchange with a third party involved in cricket, about a number of topics. In these messages, I referred to allegations about Azeem Rafiq which I had heard from within the game. I also made some comments about the Asian cricket community. I deeply regret my actions, and I apologise most sincerely to Azeem and to the Asian cricket community for doing this, and for any offence caused.”
#5 Matthew Hoggard allegedly called Asians “elephant washers”
Rafiq has also claimed that it was former England bowler Matthew Hoggard who started calling him “Raffa the Kaffir”. He stated that back then he didn’t understand it was a racist slur since his nickname at the club was “Raffa”.
The 30-year-old further revealed that Hoggard referred to him and other Asian players - Adil, Ajmal and Rana – as “elephant washers” and “P***”. Hoggard is also said to have used phrases such as “you lot sit over there.”
Rafiq, however, also stated that Hoggard called him up and apologized after he opened up about the racial abuse he faced during his time at Yorkshire.
“he was problematic in the dressing room.”
Rafiq did not share ‘White Rose values’
Thanks for continuing to PROVE me right - that the club is INSTITUTIONALLY RACIST
& showing why EVERYONE needs to go
#Accountability #StartAgain #StumpOutRacism #EnoughIsEnough twitter.com/hopenothate/st…
Rafiq revealed that Hoggard told him:
“I didn’t realise… I’m really sorry if some of the comments made you feel the way you describe. I just want to apologise.”