England’s Adil Rashid has come out in support of Azeem Rafiq, confirming the claims of the use of racist remarks by Michael Vaughan.
The Yorkshire County Cricket Club has been involved in a major row for the past year with their former player Rafiq making allegations of racial discrimination within the club. Former Yorkshire captain Vaughan is at the forefront of the controversy as Rafeeq made claims against him for the use of racist remarks. In the latest development, England’s Rashid has come forward to corroborate Rafiq’s claims.
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Rashid, who was with the England cricket team for the T20 World Cup, stated that he ‘wanted to concentrate on cricket and avoid distractions’ but now pledged his support for the cause.
“Racism is cancer in all walks of life and unfortunately in professional sports too, and is something which of course has to be stamped out. I can confirm Azeem Rafiq’s recollection of Michael Vaughan’s comments to a group of us Asian players,”
Rashid was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Rafiq had alleged that the former England captain made a racist remark towards him and teammates in 2009. Rafiq recalled Vaughan saying “there are too many of you lot, we need to do something about it.“
Immediately after the reports came out, Vaughan had denied Rafiq’s allegations. However, former Pakistan player Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, who was present at the Yorkshire club, backed the report.
Rashid coming forward further adds weight to the case. He admitted that the parliamentary committee’s cause to bring about a positive change encouraged him to speak up and offered support in further investigation.
“I’m encouraged by the fact that a Parliamentary Committee seems to be trying to improve the situation, whether that’s holding people accountable or getting changes made at an institutional level. I will of course be more than happy to support any official efforts when the time is right.”
Apart from Vaughan, ex-England international Gary Ballance was also named in the report for using a racial slur. Ballance was quick to make a statement admitting that he indeed used the slur but regrets using it in ‘immature exchanges‘.
Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board had suspended Yorkshire indefinitely from hosting international matches for the mishandling investigation report.
