Yorkshire have lost one of their main commercial partners and several other sponsors are demanding answers about the club’s handling of the Azeem Rafiq race row which has engulfed Headingley.
Arla Foods, a Danish food manufacturer, spoke on behalf of Anchor Butter. Sportsmail that they will not renew their sponsorship of the county’s 50-over team, while Tetley’s brewery and Emerald Publishing are also talking to Yorkshire about their ongoing involvement.
Anchor’s decision to walk away will increase the pressure on Yorkshire’s other sponsors to act following the revelation by ESPNcricinfo that the club took no disciplinary action against a current player who regularly called Rafiq a ‘P***’ according to the independent report commissioned by the county into the former spinner’s racism allegations.
Yorkshire have lost one of their main commercial partners over the club’s handling of the Azeem Rafiq race row
Emerald have been the title sponsors of Headingley since 2017, while the support of Leeds-based brewery Tetley’s goes back decades.
‘We are dismayed by the conclusion of an independent panel that the former player, Azeem Rafiq, suffered racial harassment and bullying during his time at the club,’ read an Emerald statement.
Yorkshire is also under increasing political pressure. Health Secretary Sajid Javid tweeted: ‘P*** is not banter. Yorkshire CCC should have heads rolling. If (the) ECB doesn’t take action it’s not fit for purpose.’
A spokesperson for Arla Foods, the Danish food company who produce Anchor Butter, told Sportsmail that they will not renew their sponsorship of the county’s 50-over team