LONDON: A top British cricketer was the victim of “racial harassment and bullying,” including Islamophobic incidents, according to a report released by his former club on Friday.
Azeem Rafiq, 30, was the former England youth team captain and one of the country’s brightest cricketing stars, but he experienced a sustained assault of racism and religious abuse that, at one point, brought him close to taking his own life, he said.
He accused Yorkshire County Cricket Club of “institutional racism,” and made 43 individual complaints about incidents of harassment and racist abuse that he experienced while there. Seven of those accusations were upheld in a report released on Friday.
YCCC Chairman Roger Hutton offered the club’s “profound and unreserved apologies” to Rafiq and his family.
“There is no question that Azeem Rafiq, during his first spell as a player at YCCC, was the victim of racial harassment,” Hutton said in a statement. “He was also subsequently the victim of bullying.”
The report found that, among other abuses, Rafiq was deprived of halal food while playing junior cricket for the club.
He and other Muslim teammates were also regularly subjected to jokes that made individuals feel uncomfortable about their religious practices, and racist language was used at least three times by coaches and players against the cricketer.
The report also found that YCCC could have done more to make Muslims feel more welcome in its stadiums, and should have dealt better with incidents of racist and Islamophobic abuse aimed at them.
In a 2020 interview with ESPN, Rafiq said he was made to feel like an “outsider” because of his Muslim faith.
He and his team also criticized the club’s handling of the report’s release. A statement given on his behalf said he received a copy of the findings “only a couple minutes before the media.”
A spokesperson added: “We must highlight the atrocious way this process continues to be handled. Azeem was not given any notice of this morning’s statement.
“Azeem and his team are not in a position to properly understand the club’s conclusions and how they reached them, because Yorkshire has not provided a copy of the report. This is clearly unacceptable and an abuse of process.
“What is clear is that Yorkshire County Cricket Club admits racism and bullying has taken place on many occasions, yet won’t accept the obvious — that this is an institutional problem.”
But Hutton denied the accusation of institutional racism, saying there is “insufficient evidence” to support it.
The England and Wales Cricket Board described the findings as “very concerning.” Its Chair Ian Watmore said: “It is clear that the game owes him (Rafiq) an apology and we are happy to offer that apology to him.
“There is simply no place for racism in cricket, and what Azeem experienced was unacceptable.
“The ECB has only seen the statement and summary report for the first time today, so we will now examine the contents in detail to decide what further action is required.”
The YCCC’s investigating panel made a number of recommendations surrounding inclusion and diversity, which the club said it will “now enthusiastically implement.”
