Yorkshire Racism Row: Another Asian Player Reports Abuse At County Cricket Club Amid Azeem Rafiq Allegations
Former Yorkshire all-rounder Azeem Rafiq – an Englishman of Pakistani origin – had reported being subjected to racist behaviour by his teammates in 2018 and now another former member of the team has come forward with claims of racial misconduct at the county.
England county cricket club, Yorkshire, has come under tremendous criticism in recent times due to alleged racial abuse of former players at the club. All-rounder Azeem Rafiq – an Englishman of Pakistani origin – had reported being subjected to racist behaviour by his teammates in 2018 and now another former member of the team has come forward with claims of racial misconduct at the county. Usman Khawaja Reveals Facing Racism in Australia.
As reported by Daily Mail, the player, who has refused to be named, revealed that he was a 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'.
‘Everyone in the Asian cricketing community has known Yorkshire County Cricket Club is racist, yet somehow they have been able to cunningly continue with their agenda,’ said the former players as reported by Daily Mail. The former players also added that his allegations were never looked into.
‘There are many Asian cricketers like myself who have had their careers ruined, but have moved on and taken the treatment on the chin. I salute them all, as it can’t have been easy,’ the player added further.
The player further said he overheard ‘senior players’, who are 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.
Another Instance
This new claim of racist abuse at Yorkshire comes after the club are already under pressure after revelations that batsman Gary Balance, who recently apologised for his actions, had called his former team-mate Rafiq a derogatory term, something which the club concluded was part of ‘friendly and good-natured banter’.
Azeem Rafiq had claimed that he had a captain that was ‘openly racist’ and had taken his complaints formally to the Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The England cricketing board had issued a statement stating that they will conduct a full investigation into the case.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 05, 2021 05:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).