Yorkshire Cricket Club has been under investigation by equality officials for not taking action on bullying and racial harassment.
Club members have been asked for details by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. If they do not comply, court proceedings could be taken.
Marcial Boo, the chief executive of the organisation, stated that he was deeply disturbed by incidents at Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
Yorkshire Cricket Club is being investigated by equality chiefs for failing to take action against ‘bullying’ and racial harassment. This comes amid new allegations of abuse. Pictured are Gary Ballance and Azeem Rahiq
Marcial Boo, chief executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (pictured), stated that he was ‘deeply worried’ about these claims
YCCC has received our request for additional information. We also requested a complete copy of the investigation report to see if they have found any violations of law. If so, we will immediately take appropriate action.
“All employers are responsible for protecting their employees against bullying and harassment. The English Cricket Board met with us in April to talk about how we can achieve this in our sport.
The investigation was sparked by Yorkshire clearing Gary Ballance of any wrongdoing after he was found to have called his teammate Azeem Rafiq a ‘p***’ in the club’s own report.
The growing scandal, which has now embroiled former England captain Michael Vaughan, has led to calls for chief executive Mark Arthur and director of cricket Martyn Moxon to follow outgoing chairman Roger Hutton in resigning.
Michael Vaughan has been trying to salvage his reputation since Rana Naved ul Hasan, a former Yorkshire player, supported Azeem Rafiq’s claims that the ex-England captain had made a racist comment about Asian players in 2009.
Vaughan was named in the Rafiq report — but denied claims that he told a group of Yorkshire players with Asian heritage that there were ‘too many of you lot’
It comes amid fresh claims of racism at the club after another player of Asian heritage said he was the victim of numerous instances of racist abuse, ‘both blatant and sly’, during his time at the club in the early 2000s and said: ‘I had a player p*ss on my head’.
Because he doesn’t want his family to learn, the player has left the club unhappy after complaining that he wasn’t given the same opportunities for white cricketers. He claims he was promised that his accusations would be investigated, but they were never.
According to a statement, which has not been released but can be seen on Sportsmail, the player said that it took him “several years” to come together after his Yorkshire experience.
He said: “Everyone knows Yorkshire County Cricket Club has been racist. Yet, they are able to cleverly carry on with their agenda.”
“There are many Asian cricketers just like me who had their careers destroyed, but they have continued to play and have taken care of the game.” It was not easy, and I salute all of them.
Ballance, however, apologized but it wasn’t before sponsors severed ties to the county. The England and Wales Cricket Board also suspended international matches at Headingley (the club’s grounds).
Lord Patel of Bradford, who is the new club chair, hopes to rebuild Bradford and stated that he himself was affected by racism growing up.
Patel (61), arrived in Yorkshire with his family from Kenya in early 1960s. He credits his love for cricket as the reason he became a popular figure.
He was made a life peer and served as a minister in Gordon Brown’s Labour government.
Pictured: Lord Kamlesh Paltel is the new head for Yorkshire cricket, in an effort help the club get out of the current crisis.
ESPNcricinfo he said: “When I was young, I became a very quick runner.
“Do you want to know the reason? Because gangs of skinheads used to delight in what they called P**i-bashing and you either learned to run or you took a beating.
‘So that word – the P**i word – has real meaning for me. You don’t have to tell me it isn’t banter.
Amid the growing storm, coach Andrew Gale has been accused of sending an anti-Semitic tweet when he was captain of the club.
Gale sent a tweet to Leeds United’s then head of media Paul Dews in 2010 that included the words ‘button it y**!’, Jewish News reported yesterday.
According to the Yorkshire coach, he did not know the offensive nature the term was when he tweeted it. It was quickly deleted.
An unidentified man is seen wearing a flat cap while standing next to a sign saying ‘YCCC racism shames our country and game’. The sign was displayed at a bus stop in the vicinity of Yorkshire County Cricket Club Headingley Stadium.
Gale said, “This post is part a conversational thread among Paul Dews’ and mine.” Gale explained that this is a reference to an old chant directed at Leeds fans.
“Paul called me within a matter of minutes and explained to me the meaning and why it was so offensive for Jews. It was incomprehensible to me, so I immediately deleted it. If I had known its offensive meaning, I wouldn’t use that word and have not used it since.
Meanwhile Michael Vaughan is battling to save his reputation after former Yorkshire player Rana Naved ul-Hasan supported Azeem Rafiq’s claim that the ex-England captain made a racist comment towards Asian players in 2009.
Vaughan was then removed from Monday’s Tuffers & Vaughan Show, BBC Radio 5 Live.
All-rounder Rana Naved ul-Hasan played for the county in the 2008-09 season and claims that he was on the field when Vaughan allegedly told a group of Yorkshire’s British Asian stars — said to include Rafiq, Adil Rashid and Ajmal Shahzad — ‘Too many of you lot, we need to do something about it’.
Gary Ballance apologised after calling his former team-mate Rafiq a ‘P***’ — an epithet Yorkshire concluded was part of ‘friendly and good-natured banter’.
Vaughan presented the allegations on Thursday in his Daily Telegraph column and denied them completely. According to Vaughan, reading the accusations against him was like being hit over the head by a brick.
It is not clear what actually happened because of the different versions. In an exclusive interview, Naved said that he was shocked by the denial of former England captain and stated that there were ‘lots’ of racists in Yorkshire.
Naved stated that ‘Yes, yes it is true, but he (Vaughan), has denied it. That is shocking. Rafiq’s claims are true. Vaughan was there. I was also there. He used these words, and he has denied them. It was certain that he said it.
‘I was really shocked—- why is he denying these things? He’s an experienced player, who also played for England. Rafiq has the right idea. This is the reason I am backing Rafiq, he is right. It’s not like I think, “Oh, Rafiq is Asian, so I will back him.” No — I’m telling you the truth.’
When asked by reporters why the former Pakistani star did not immediately complain, he replied that he was a professional player at the time and did not do anything. Muslims are Muslims and just play cricket.
“I am reacting because it is a true story, and he has denied it.
‘He was a senior player at that time, captain or vice–captain as we respect senior people. This is why I chose to ignore it. These words, particularly for Asians, aren’t good for us.