LONDON — Yorkshire and a “number of
individuals” have been charged by the England and
Wales Cricket Board (ECB)
following the governing body’s investigation into how the county dealt with
racism allegations made by former player Azeem Rafiq.
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The ECB did not name any of the people involved in a
statement issued on Wednesday.
The board said the charges arose from alleged
breaches of the ECB’s anti-discrimination code as well as rules concerned with
the conduct of players and officials.
The governing body added an independent panel of the
Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) would now hear the cases, expected to take
place in September and October.
The ECB said it was standard practice for the CDC
panel to publish its decisions and written reasons in full.
Pakistan-born former off-spinner Rafiq first raised
allegations of racism and bullying in September 2020, related to his two spells
at Yorkshire.
It was not until a year later that the club finally
released a statement saying the retired player had been the victim of “racial
harassment and bullying”, upholding seven of his 43 allegations.
But the following month the club confirmed nobody
would be disciplined, a decision that was greeted with widespread incredulity.
Pressure mounted
on
Yorkshire, leading to a mass clear-out of senior boardroom figures and
coaching staff at its Headingley headquarters.
Earlier this month, however, former Yorkshire coach
Andrew Gale won a claim for unfair dismissal, leaving the club facing the
prospect of paying out huge sums in compensation.
The ECB had previously warned Yorkshire it was
prepared to remove lucrative England international matches from Headingley
unless the club made changes.
But those games, including next week’s third Test against
New Zealand and a one-day international against South Africa in July, are set
to go ahead as scheduled after a package of governance reforms was approved.
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