Michael Vaughan was dragged further into the Azeem Rafiq scandal today after he denied claims he was racist towards a group of Yorkshire’s British Asian players only for one of the club’s star fast bowlers to publicly insist that he heard it.
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan says he is willing to give evidence that Mr Vaughan said ‘there’s too many of you lot’, claiming he was next to Mr Rafiq at Trent Bridge in 2009 when Vaughan is alleged to have said it, according to ESPNcricinfo.
Last year Mr ul-Hasan, who played almost 100 tests and ODIs for Pakistan, said Asian players were regularly racially abused at Yorkshire – and ‘nobody did anything about it’.
BBC pundit and former England captain Mr Vaughan himself revealed he is named in the report into alleged racism at the county, but said: The allegation hit me over the head like a brick but I have nothing to hide’.
It was claimed that he told a group of Yorkshire players with Asian heritage — including Rafiq, Adil Rashid, Ajmal Shahzad and Pakistan ‘s Rana Naved — that there were ‘too many of you lot, we need to do something about it’. He stated last night that he had ‘completely and categorically denied’ having said those words and would meet with Mr Rafiq about it.
Vaughan, 47 years old, was a Yorkshire player throughout his career, 1993-2009, and then he moved into an advisory role at Yorkshire after he retired.
Michael Vaughan admitted he was named in the Azeem Rafiq report but denied racism claims. It was claimed that he told a group of Yorkshire players with Asian heritage — including Rafiq, Adil Rashid, Ajmal Shahzad and Pakistan ‘s Rana Naved — that there were ‘too many of you lot, we need to do something about it’.
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, pictueed, says he is willing and able to provide evidence that Mr Vaughan said “there’s too much of you lot”, claiming that he was next Mr Rafiq at Trent Bridge in 2009, when Vaughan is alleged he said it.
Writing in his Telegraphcolumn, he said that he was asked by Yorkshire to address the independent panel that was formed to investigate Rafiq’s claims in December 2020.
Roger Hutton, chairman of Yorkshire, has resigned in the wake the Azeem Rafiq racism accusations
“The night before I was scheduled to give evidence, out-of-the-blue, I was told by Rafiq that Rafiq had claimed that Rafiq had told Rafiq, along with two other Asian players, that in 2009, before a Yorkshire match against Nottinghamshire was played, that there were ‘too many of them lot’ and that we needed to do something about it.
“This hit me very hard. It was like being hit over the head by a brick. I have been involved in cricket for over 30 years and have never been accused or disciplined in any way as a commentator or player.
“I categorically and completely deny that I ever said these words.”
Vaughan also denied a second claim in this report. This was that Vaughan had advised Yorkshire chiefs, Rafiq, that they sign Kane Williamson from New Zealand because of his ability bowl off-spin.
Rafiq claimed in a report that this was racism. He intended to make Williamson look like a threat to his place as a frontline bowler and Rafiq as a spinner. Rafiq said, “It’s because of my ethnicity, race, and colour that Michael Vaughan made those comments.”
Vaughan replied to the question on Thursday night by saying that he would never say that in front a group. I was struck by the performance of Williamson in Twenty20 cricket. It made me realize that we need three-dimensional cricketers in our top 4. They must be able to score runs, bowl overs, and field well.
“I have never discriminated against anyone nor judged a player on the basis of race. All I ask, and all I have ever asked, is “How can we improve as teams?”
“By suggesting Williamson from Yorkshire, I was trying to improve the team. My cricket knowledge suggests that this was the right decision.”
Vaughan, who is the second person to confirm he is part the report after Gary Ballance, a Yorkshire batsman, said he was keen to meet Rafiq and discuss the claims.
He said, “In time, I am more then happy to meet with Azeem,” I would be open to it. I would like to be able to sit with him, hear his stories and get to know his perspective. Although it has been difficult for me to communicate directly with him for legal reasons, I hope that we can now speak in person and understand each others’ point of view.
Yorkshire’s chairman quit today and tore into its management over the lack of ‘care and contrition’ shown to Azeem Rafiq after he was repeatedly called a ‘P*ki’.
Minutes after Tom Harrison, Chief Executive at the ECB, stated that he would ‘find difficulty’ for Roger Hutton to remain in his position, Roger Hutton announced his resignation.
Incendiary statements were made by the man who attacked Yorkshire’s “culture of refusing to accept change” and stated that there was an ‘inconstant unwillingness by the Executive Board and senior management to apologise or to accept racism.
“I would like this opportunity to apologize unreservedly Azeem. The serious allegations of racism were made by the Club. I am sorry that we were unable to persuade the Board’s executive members to recognize the gravity of this situation and show care, contrition’, he said. He also stated that Martyn Moxon, the director of cricket, and Mark Arthur, the club’s chief executive must also resign.
He then dragged the ECB into this scandal, saying: ‘I want it to be clear that after I became aware of Azeem’s allegations, ECB asked me to help support a robust investigation. I was disappointed when they refused to help me as I believed it was important for the entire game. It is a matter to be noted that I have expressed my frustration with the ECB’s reluctance “to act”.
As the ECB banned Headingley from hosting international matches and barred Gary Ballance from England duty after he admitted calling Azeem Rafiq a ‘P*ki’, a number of board members are expected to quit.
A club statement stated: “The Club would like Roger to be thanked for his work during the time he was Chair.” The Board of Club members will meet today and will issue a statement later in this day.
Sponsors including Nike have abandoned the Leeds-based cricketing institution. A former Yorkshire player has made fresh allegations of racial misconduct at Yorkshire.
The Yorkshire Cricket Club is facing new allegations of racial misconduct by a former player
The player, who is 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 told MailOnline: ‘I had a player p*ss on my head’.
The club’s reputation has been damaged by the ECB. They said that Yorkshire’s handling of the matter was ‘wholly unacceptable’ and that it was causing serious damage.
Another Asian player, who asked not to be identified because he doesn’t want his family to know, described how he quit the club disillusioned because he didn’t get the same opportunities as white players. He claims that he was told that his allegations would be investigated, but they never were.
The player, who has not been made public, but was seen by Sportsmail, said that it took him’several decades to get my life together’ after his Yorkshire experiences.
He stated that while everyone in Asian cricket knew Yorkshire County Cricket Club was racist, they were able to cleverly carry on with their agenda.
“There are many Asian players like me who have had their careers ruined but have continued to play the game. It was not easy, and I salute them all.
Yorkshire are already under pressure after revelations that batsman Gary Ballance called his former team-mate Rafiq a ‘P***’ — an epithet the club concluded was part of ‘friendly and good-natured banter’.
Wednesday’s apology was made by Ballance, but not before sponsors severed ties with the county.
The fresh claims by a second player against Yorkshire — which at this stage are only claims and have not yet been investigated — date back two decades and make for unpleasant reading.
Gary Ballance apologised after calling his former team-mate Rafiq a ‘P***’ — an epithet Yorkshire concluded was part of ‘friendly and good-natured banter’.
The 47-year-old former captain of England said he was eager to meet Rafiq (right), to discuss the claims
The player stated that he had experienced racism from both direct and indirect players. Believe it or not, I had a player p*** on my head from the hotel bedroom above, as I was on the phone leaning out of my room window. Not to mention the many racist comments, both blatantly and sly. At the time, the coach told me to ignore it and that I would deal with it. They didn’t.
In another story, the player said he overheard ‘senior players’ — both still involved at Yorkshire —talking about ‘how they ‘sh**ged a bird’ in the hotel room who was on her period and made a mess, and all they could find is a Muslim player’s prayer mat to clean it up. Is this a sick story? These are supposed to your team-mates.
Rafiq’s whistleblowing is believed to have given the player the courage to speak up, though they never met in county cricket.
After seven allegations of abuse were confirmed, Yorkshire has apologised for Rafiq. Another story from the player claims that he was subjected to humiliating treatment during practice. He said that his ‘team-mates’ would throw the ball so hard from close to the goal line that it would bruise my hands through the gloves when catching them. This injury caused me to miss the final one.
The coaches would not say a word. I would have to be more assertive, it seems. The statement continued: “I and others were used to calculate statistics. When people said Yorkshire were racist, their reply was: ‘How can we be — we have X amount of Asians on our books?’
‘I was denied a single chance to play second-XI cricket. How did they expect my game would improve? Other white players were allowed to play in the second XI. After initially failing, they eventually got used to it. This is what happens when you play with and against better players.
Sportsmail reported the allegations to Yorkshire. A spokesperson for the club stated that this behavior was unacceptable. It is obvious that we will investigate.
Mohammed Patel (a human-rights lawyer, founder of Heaven Help Us Cricket Club and organizer of the peaceful ‘Justice for Azeem Rafiq’ gathering outside Headingley, is organizing a peaceful ‘Justice for Azeem Rafiq’ event. This event supports charitable causes.
“Everyone in Asia cricket has known Yorkshire is racist,” said the player.