- Saturday, April 27, 2024
By: Sarwar Alam
England captain Joe Root has expressed sympathy for Azeem Rafiq after the former Yorkshire spinner alleged that he had been a victim of institutional racism at the club.
Yorkshire said on Thursday they had apologised to Rafiq after an independent investigation found that historically he was the “victim of inappropriate behaviour”.
Rafiq, a player of Pakistani origin who captained the England Under-19 side, had alleged racist abuse at Yorkshire stretching back to 2008.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Root called for English cricket to end all forms of discrimination and said it was hard to see his former Yorkshire team mate “hurting”.
“I can’t really speculate or comment too much on a report I have not seen. But, as a former team mate and friend, it’s hard to see Azeem hurting as he is,” said Root.
“More than anything, it just shows that there is a lot of work we have to do in the game… it’s a societal issue in my opinion… as a sport, we have got to keep trying to find ways of making sure this isn’t a conversation that keeps happening.”
Rafiq last year said that he was made to feel like an “outsider” at Yorkshire and even contemplated taking his own life.
“Many of the allegations were not upheld… it is right, however, to acknowledge from the outset that several of the allegations made by Azeem were upheld and that sadly, historically, Azeem was the victim of inappropriate behaviour,” Yorkshire said in a statement.
“This is clearly unacceptable. We would like to express our profound apologies for this.”
Rafiq, however, took to Twitter to express his disappointment at the findings, calling for Yorkshire to clearly spell out that he was the subject of racist abuse.
“‘Inappropriate behaviour’, are you sure about that @YorkshireCCC? You carry on playing with your words & fudging this best way possible… It’s not going away,” wrote the 30-year-old.
In an interview to Sky Sports News later on Thursday, Rafiq added: “It hurts, it seriously hurts. I think at the end of it, there’s some sort of apology, but I think it gets spoiled by the words that are used to try and minimise what actually my allegations were.”
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) released a statement commending the player’s “bravery” and said it “recognised both the pain and the distress of participating in an investigation into these matters”.
“It is critical that Azeem, and others who gave evidence, receive appropriate support and we are seeking assurances that this is the case,” said Cindy Butts, chair of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, which was set up by the ECB in March to look into issues relating to race and equity.
Root added that the England team will wear anti-discrimination t-shirts and observe “a moment of unity” ahead of the third test against India at Headingley.
“We have to keep showing the sport is for everyone and that we are desperate to make everyone feel welcome to it. It’s such a brilliant sport and should be open to everyone,” he said.
