Yorkshire Cricket Club Racism Allegations – Disciplinary Hearing Commences

Last week, the hearing into the allegations made by Azeem Rafiq concerning institutional racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club (the Club) began with numerous high-profile professionals in the sport being interviewed.

Below, we have outlined the timeline of events of this case that has led up to the hearing.

Timeline

In 2018, upon leaving the Club, Azeem Rafiq made 43 allegations in total, which included that one senior player at the Club had on numerous occasions used a racially offensive term towards him. He reported the incidents of abuse to the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) and to senior team officials.

In September 2020, Azeem Rafiq’s claims about Yorkshire Cricket Club first publicly came to light when he stated that “deep-rooted” racism existed at the Club which had left him “close to committing suicide“.

Azeem Rafiq told Sky Sports News:

Following this, the Club commenced with an investigation into the claims.

Azeem Rafiq revealed further details of the racism he faced, claiming that non-white players were referred to as “P***s” and “elephant washers” and told to “go back where you came from“. He also highlighted that a drinking culture existed at the Club which was insensitive to Muslim attitudes towards alcohol.

In December 2020, Azeem Rafiq filed a direct discrimination and harassment claim against the Club on the grounds of race, as well as victimisation and detriment due to his efforts to address racism at the Club.

Azeem Rafiq and his legal representatives sought “a declaration that the club acted unlawfully, as well as financial damages for the harm and detriment he suffered“. Adding that they were making recommendations “to ensure that changes are brought about at the club to ensure it doesn’t happen again“.In response, the Club stated that they were taking the allegations “extremely seriously” but wouldn’t be providing any further comment whilst their investigation into the allegations was still ongoing.

In June 2021, Yorkshire Cricket Club said that they had failed to “resolve the issues between the club and Azeem Rafiq” through the judicial mediation process and as a result, the case would remain with the Employment Tribunal.

In August 2021, following its investigation, Yorkshire Cricket Club apologised to Azeem Rafiq for him being the “victim of inappropriate behaviour“. In the Club’s summarised version of its investigation finding, it admitted that Azeem Rafiq had been the victim of “racial harassment” and “bullying” during his time at the Club. Adding that it had failed to properly escalate the allegations made by Azeem Rafiq when he first raised them privately in 2018.

However, despite this, the Club stated that it would not be taking any disciplinary action regarding the conduct of any of its employees, players, or executives. The panel responsible for making conclusions on the investigation, which included a member of the Club’s board, stated that they did not accept that Azeem Rafiq was offended by other players’ comments.  They determined that repeated use of the word “P***” against the spinner was delivered “in the spirit of friendly banter“. The Club stated that it did not intend to publish its report in full.

In response, Azeem Rafiq accused the Club of “fudging” his claims of institutional racism. Adding that he was “not happy” and would “fight on”. The ECB stated that the findings of the independent panel were “very concerning” and would decide what action to take after considering it in further detail.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) heavily criticised the Club for showing a “lack of genuine contrition“. It also demanded that Azeem Rafiq be able to view the Club’s report in-full.

In November 2021, following criticism from the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, the ECB stated that it would be undertaking a full regulatory process as “quickly as possible“, and apologised for not taking action soon. Adding that it was “conscious about the length of time that Azeem has waited for resolution and the toll that must be taking on his wellbeing and that of his family“.

Later that same month, the ECB suspended the Club from hosting international or major matches, and that this ban would remain in place “until it has clearly demonstrated that it can meet the standards expected of an international venue, ECB member and first-class county“. The ban remained in place until February 2021, as conditions regarding the running of the Club had been met.

Former England and Yorkshire Cricket Club player, Gary Balance, who had previously admitted using a racial slur towards Azeem Rafiq, was “suspended indefinitely” from international selection. There were also several senior resignations from the Club with Chairman, Roger Hutton, Chief Executive, Mark Arthur, and many others leaving their posts. Lord Kamlesh Patel was appointed as the Club’s new Chairman and subsequently apologised to Azeem Rafiq for how the Club dealt with his claims.

Adil Rashid joined Rana Naved-ul-Hasan in supporting Azeem Rafiq’s claim that Michael Vaughan had said there “are too many of you lot, we need to do something about it” which related to players of Asian backgrounds.

In November 2021, Azeem Rafiq appeared before MPs to outline all the aspects of his wide-ranging allegations of institutional racism at the Club. He made numerous allegations, including that there had been racism in the England team, accusing Gary Ballance of using the word ‘Kevin’ in respect of “anyone of colour” and claiming that Alex Hales had called his dog after the racial slur.

Roger Hutton informed MPs that he received a request from Mark Arthur to stop the investigation, adding that he had wanted to remove both Mark Arthur and Director of Cricket, Martyn Moxon, from their roles.

The ECB brought charges in June 2022 against the Club and seven current and former players concerning claims of racism, and the handling of those claims. The seven individuals were later revealed to be Michael Vaughan, Gary Ballance, Andrew Gale, Matthew Hoggard, Tim Bresnan, John Blain, and Richard Pyrah.

The hearing into allegations of racism at the Club, which would be chaired by the Cricket Discipline Commission, was set for March. The Club and Gary Balance’s admittance of the charges against them meant they would not attend the hearing. Michael Vaughan would be the only individual to appear at the hearing as Andrew Gale, Matthew Hoggard, Tim Bresnan, John Blain, and Richard Pyrah withdrew their cooperation from the investigation process.

Comment

From a purely legal perspective, race is one of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act). The Act protects employees against race discrimination by making it unlawful for an employer to subject an employee to harassment related to their race, as demonstrated in the above instance.

In this case, however, it has been the media coverage and resulting outcry that has had a massive impact on the Club, rather than any legal proceedings.

This illustrates that employers should consider that their culture is fundamental for employee well-being and their reputation with their wider stakeholders.

We advise all our employer clients to work on creating an inclusive culture and also to have a framework of policies and training which underpin and promote this.