Michael Vaughan cleared of racism claims
Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan has been cleared of using racist language towards ex-Yorkshire team-mate Azeem Rafiq. Vaughan was accused of saying “there’s too many of you lot, we need to have a word about that” to Rafiq and three other Asian players representing Yorkshire in 2009.
However, the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) panel found that the England and Wales Cricket Board’s case against Vaughan was not proven.
The panel said it was “not satisfied on the balance of probabilities” that the words were said by Vaughan “at the time and in the specific circumstances alleged”.
The CDC panel upheld some of the charges against former Yorkshire players Tim Bresnan, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Gale, Richard Pyrah and John Blain.
All parties have 14 days to appeal against the CDC’s decisions. The panel will disclose the sanctions against the individuals and the club at a later date.
Vaughan and Rafiq react to ruling
Vaughan said: “It has been both difficult and upsetting to hear about the painful experiences which Azeem has described over the past three years.
“The outcome of these CDC proceedings must not be allowed to detract from the core message that there can be no place for racism in the game of cricket, or in society generally.”
He added: “I have never wanted to do anything that runs contrary to genuine efforts to clean up the game of cricket. I truly hope people can understand why, on a personal level, I could not just accept, or apologise for, something which I know I did not do.
“At times, this process has brought me to the brink of falling out of love with cricket. I won’t address here the toll that it has taken on me and my family, but I have no doubt that it has also been incredibly stressful for all of the others concerned. I hope that for them and for cricket, an inclusive healing process can now begin.”
Rafiq said: “The issue has never been about individuals but the game as a whole. Cricket needs to understand the extent of its problems and address them.
“Hopefully, the structures of the game can now be rebuilt and institutionalised racism ended for good. It’s time to reflect, learn and implement change.”
Richard Thompson, ECB chair, said: “This has been an incredibly challenging period for our sport, but one we must all learn from in order to make cricket better and more inclusive.
“Given the nature of these cases, they have taken a clear toll on everyone involved. There now needs to be a time of reconciliation where, as a game, we can collectively learn and heal the wounds and ensure that nothing like this can ever happen again.”