LONDON: The senior official accused of downplaying allegations of racism made by former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq called for a “line in the sand” to be drawn Friday after members approved his return as chairman of the financially stricken English county club.
Colin Graves, Yorkshire’s chairman from 2012-15 having first saved the club from commercial collapse in 2002, got the go-ahead to return to his old role after members approved a special resolution at an extraordinary general meeting on Friday, with 88 percent of the votes cast in his favor.
The ballot, however, is still subject to approval by Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority. Once fully ratified the second tranche of a personal, unsecured loan of £1 million ($1.27 million) from Graves will be advanced to the club.
Last month the Yorkshire board, with some £15 million owed to the Graves family trust, told the club’s members they were recommending a loan offer from Graves “having exhausted all other options.”
Graves gave an interview to Sky Sports last year when he said no one had reported any incidents of racism to him when he was in charge at Yorkshire, although he was aware of “a lot of banter.”
The 76-year-old, also a former chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, has since expressed “profound regret” for those remarks.
Rafiq, however, said he did not accept Graves’ apology.
Nevertheless, a conciliatory Graves said Friday: “I give my personal pledge to you and the entire Yorkshire public that regardless of background, community, ethnicity, everybody — and I mean everybody — will be welcomed in a solid, inclusive culture and environment at Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
“There will be no exception.”
He added: “Let’s draw a line in the sand. What’s happened is history — I can’t change it, you can’t change it... We’ve all put our hand up and said if things were wrong, we apologize.”
Graves, warning of a “bumpy ride” ahead, insisted: “I’m not doing this for fun, I’m not doing this for the good of Colin Graves, I can assure you I am doing this for the good of Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
“I could be sat at home with my slippers on my feet doing nothing. I made the decision to come here, sort this club out and get it back to where it needs to be.”
Pakistan-born spinner Rafiq went public with allegations of racism and bullying in September 2020, related to his two spells at Yorkshire.
His revelations led to the exit of Yorkshire’s then chief executive, director of cricket and coach, as well as several other staff members.
The ECB threatened Yorkshire with the withdrawal of hosting rights for lucrative England matches at the club’s Headingley headquarters in Leeds.
They also established an independent inquiry that found officials had failed to tackle institutional racism and sexism in English cricket.
But former England captain Michael Vaughan was cleared of using racist language “on the balance of probabilities” after opting to defend himself at a hearing in March last year.
Yorkshire are one of the most important clubs in English cricket history, with a record 32 outright County Championship titles and a host of England greats, including Len Hutton, Fred Trueman, Geoffrey Boycott and, more recently, Joe Root to their credit.
The ECB warned last month it was “vital” efforts to tackle discrimination at Yorkshire continued,” with a UK parliamentary committee announcing Friday that Graves would appear before lawmakers alongside ECB officials on February 20 to answer questions about the issue.
