LONDON: The UK government has pledged to “step in” with “real action” if the response by Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the England and Wales Cricket Board falls short in addressing racism within the club.
Culture Minister Chris Philp told the House of Commons that racism must be “confronted” and “eradicated” in the sport. He also called for further resignations by YCCC’s top brass.
Roger Hutton stepped down last week as chairman, citing concerns over the club’s handling of racism accusations by former player Azeem Rafiq.
Philp said: “If there is anybody left from that regime, they should resign as well.”
Rafiq has called for CEO Mark Arthur and Martyn Moxon, director of professional cricket at YCCC, to resign. Both men still sit on the executive board.
Philp said the situation faced by Rafiq was “unacceptable,” should “never have been allowed to happen,” and should have been “dealt with properly” during the initial investigation.
He told Parliament: “We have been clear with the England and Wales Cricket Board that this needs a full, transparent investigation both into the incidents involving Azeem Rafiq but also into the wider cultural issues and Yorkshire Cricket Club.” The case, he added, must be a “watershed moment for cricket.”
Earlier in the year, Rafiq — who was at one point one of England’s most promising cricketers — raised the alarm about what he called “institutional racism” at the club.
He said he had faced racial and religious abuse during his two stints at the club, and it had failed to effectively process and deal with his complaints.
This week, it emerged that another player, Irfan Amjad, also faced race-related abuse while playing for the club’s academy team. Both men are of Pakistani heritage and faced abuse directly related to their ethnicity.
Rafiq and Hutton will appear before a parliamentary committee later this month to give their accounts of racist at the club.
