LONDON: Yorkshire were suspended from staging international matches after the England and Wales Cricket Board strongly condemned their handling of a racism row involving Azeem Rafiq, with ex-England captain Michael Vaughan later denying allegations he had abused his one-time team-mate.
The 30-year-old Rafiq has accused Yorkshire of failing to deal adequately with his allegations of racism when he played for the English county.
In September, Yorkshire offered the Pakistan-born off-spinner “profound and unreserved apologies” in a report commissioned by the club.
But last week Yorkshire said they would take no disciplinary action against any staff, unleashing a wave of criticism and prompting sponsors, including Nike, to turn their backs on the club.
In an escalation, the ECB on Thursday called Yorkshire’s handling of the case “wholly unacceptable” and the matter “abhorrent.”
They stripped Headingley, Yorkshire’s headquarters in Leeds, of the right to stage a Test between England and New Zealand in June 2022, as well as a one-day international with South Africa in July.
“YCCC (Yorkshire County Cricket Club) are suspended from hosting international or major matches until it has clearly demonstrated that it can meet the standards expected of an international venue, ECB member and first-class county,” the ECB said.
Gary Ballance, who admitted using a racial slur against Rafiq during their time together at Yorkshire, would be “suspended indefinitely” from England selection pending an investigation, the ECB said.
It is four years since the Zimbabwe-born batter last played international cricket.
Rafiq tweeted that he would need “time to reflect” on the ECB’s intervention, having also alleged “institutional racism and abject failures by numerous leaders at Yorkshire,” as well as in the wider game.
“The sport I love and my club desperately need reform and cultural change,” he posted on Twitter.
There was further drama when Vaughan, writing in his Daily Telegraph column, said the report commissioned by Yorkshire states he told a group of Asian players — including Rafiq — before a match against Nottinghamshire in 2009: “Too many of you lot, we need to do something about it.”
“I completely and categorically deny that I ever said those words,” Vaughan wrote in the newspaper.
“I will fight to the end to prove I am not that person.”
Depriving Yorkshire of England matches could cost the county millions of pounds, with ECB chief executive Tom Harrison saying the “unprecedented action” had “very significant financial implications.”
“But right now, the implications for the wider game are far more serious than financial,” he added. “We will not stand for discrimination and racism has absolutely no part in our sport.”
The affair has drawn in British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, with his spokesman saying prior to Thursday’s statement by the ECB: “We urge the ECB to look at this carefully.”
Rafiq, Yorkshire’s chairman and the county’s chief executive and director of cricket have all been summoned to testify before a parliamentary committee on November 16.
Publishing company Emerald have ended their title sponsorship of Headingley and Nike said they would “no longer be the kit supplier for Yorkshire CCC.”
Rafiq, who represented Yorkshire in two spells between 2008 and 2018, made 43 allegations and said he had been driven to thoughts of suicide by his treatment at the club.
Yorkshire’s redacted report upheld seven of his claims but concluded the club was not institutionally racist.
Yorkshire barred from England games for mishandling racism allegations by Pakistan-born spinner
https://arab.news/yj2dv
Yorkshire barred from England games for mishandling racism allegations by Pakistan-born spinner
- In September, Yorkshire offered Azeem Rafiq ‘profound and unreserved apologies’
- But county club last week said it would take no disciplinary action against any staff
Pakistan seeks Chinese investment in push to shift minerals sector toward value addition
- Islamabad says mineral exports could reach $6–8 billion annually with processing and refining
- Pakistan aims to move beyond raw extraction toward processing, refining, export-oriented industrial clusters
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday said it was seeking Chinese investment to develop its vast but underexploited mineral resources, pitching a strategy focused on value addition, processing and export-oriented industrial clusters as it looks to turn mining into a pillar of long-term economic growth.
At the Pakistan–China Mineral Cooperation Forum in Islamabad, senior ministers said the government’s priority was to move beyond the export of raw minerals by developing processing plants, smelters and mineral-based industrial clusters linked to Special Economic Zones (SEZs), according to reports in state-run Radio Pakistan and the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
Pakistan holds significant reserves of copper, gold, coal and other critical minerals, but its mining sector has historically been constrained by limited infrastructure, regulatory complexity and a lack of downstream processing capacity. The government has identified mining as a potential source of foreign exchange and industrial development as it seeks international investment amid broader economic reforms.
The flagship of that strategy is the Reko Diq copper-and-gold project in Balochistan, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper deposits, which officials see as a test case for attracting large-scale foreign capital and integrating Pakistan into global mineral supply chains.
Speaking at the forum, Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan’s mineral exports could rise substantially if value was added domestically rather than through raw material exports, stressing the importance of Chinese partnership in achieving that shift.
“Pakistan’s mineral exports have the potential to reach $6-8 billion dollars annually within this decade through value addition,” Ahsan Iqbal said, according to a Radio Pakistan report.
He said Pakistan’s objective was to develop mineral processing plants, smelters and refining facilities, adding that “transformation of Pakistan’s mineral economy cannot happen without strategic partners and China’s role is central in this regard.”
Ahsan Iqbal also linked the minerals push to the second phase of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), saying it aimed to translate infrastructure connectivity into productivity, exports and jobs, while reaffirming that the security of Chinese nationals and investments remained a top national priority.
Separately, Board of Investment Minister Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh said at the forum Pakistan and China were expanding cooperation in the minerals sector alongside broader economic engagement, citing growing business-to-business activity, according to an APP report.
He said more than 300 Pakistani companies visited China in September 2025 alone and that 167 memorandums of understanding were signed at a Pakistan–China business-to-business conference, with the Board of Investment working on their implementation.
Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik invited Chinese firms to participate in the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2026, scheduled for April 8–9, describing it as a platform for structured engagement with policymakers, regulators and project sponsors, according to APP.
He said China’s experience in rare earth elements, copper smelting and refining offered lessons for Pakistan as global demand accelerates for critical minerals linked to the energy transition, adding that Pakistan, with China’s support, was positioning itself as a long-term partner in global mineral supply chains.
