LONDON: A British-Pakistani cricketer has called out his former club for “institutional racism” after a former teammate admitted to using a racial slur against him.
Azeem Rafiq, who used to play for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, responded on Twitter to former England cricketer Gary Ballance’s admission that he used a racial slur against him when the two played together.
Ballance said he regretted using the slur “P**i” — a racist term usually directed at anyone who appears to be of South Asian descent — against Rafiq.
In other instances not directly attributed to Ballance, Rafiq — who played for the club for two spells between 2008 and 2018 — was made to feel uncomfortable about his religious practices.
In a statement posted on Twitter on Wednesday, Rafiq said: “I’m not intending to say very much until the select committee hearing later this month. However, I wanted to stress this is not really about the words of certain individuals.
“This is about institutional racism and abject failures to act by numerous leaders at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and in the wider game. The sport I love and club desperately need reform and change.”
A previous internal report obtained by sports news website ESPNCricinfo found that Rafiq had been the victim of “racial harassment and bullying” while playing for YCCC.
The club had tried to claim that the use of the term P**i by individuals was in the spirit of “friendly banter,” and had previously said it would not take disciplinary action against any players, employees or executives.
Rafiq will appear before a select committee later this month — as will the club’s Chairman Roger Hutton — to discuss YCCC’s handling of the allegations. But the controversy has already begun to take its toll on the club.
Major sponsors including Yorkshire Tea, Anchor Butter and others have ended their association with YCCC, and investigations by the England and Wales Cricket Board could end with punishments including the stripping of the club’s grounds as a Test match venue.
Ebadur Rahman, founder of Nujum Sports — which introduced the Muslim Athletes’ Charter into British sport to encourage clubs and governing bodies to commit to “equality and diversity for all” — told Arab News that authorities and clubs should tackle “all forms of discrimination and racism.”
He added: “We need their support and understanding, otherwise our work and that of similar organizations will be in vain. They need to stand up and call out against racism and discrimination whenever they see it, especially when they find it in their own organizations.”
Other figures from the sporting world have also voiced support for Rafiq. Monty Panesar, former captain of England’s cricket team, slammed YCCC for claiming that the use of the racial slur was “banter.”
He told TV show “Good Morning Britain”: “I think they’ve completely mishandled this case. They haven’t taken serious concern for Azeem Rafiq and his welfare. They’ve kind of termed it as banter which sits uncomfortably with me.” He added: “The P word is a racist term and shouldn’t be defined under the banter bracket.”
YCCC on Thursday said it will hold an emergency board meeting on Friday to discuss Rafiq’s allegations.
