Yorkshire cricket membership punished over racism scandal

Yorkshire County Cricket Club was slapped with an enormous 48-point deduction within the English County Championship on Friday after admitting 4 costs associated to the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal.

The impartial Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) additionally fined the membership £400,000 ($514,000), £300,000 of which is suspended for 2 years.

The factors penalty sends Yorkshire to the underside of Division Two of the County Championship.

Pakistan-born bowler Rafiq, 32, went public with allegations of racism and bullying in September 2020, associated to his two spells on the English county.

The Yorkshire board issued an announcement accepting the sanctions.

“The CDC and ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) have today acknowledged the vast amount of work done by YCCC to overcome the cultural issues that existed within the club, which allowed racist and discriminatory behaviour to go unchallenged,” it mentioned.

“We are accountable for these issues, and we accepted four amended charges as part of a continued commitment to ensure we are able to move forward.”

But the Yorkshire board added, “We are disappointed to receive the point deductions which affects players and staff at the club, who were not responsible for the situation.”

ECB chief government Richard Gould, who was not in put up through the Rafiq scandal, mentioned, “There can be no place for racism in our game, and the penalties announced by the Cricket Discipline Commission mark the end of a thorough disciplinary process. No one should have to experience what Azeem Rafiq went through in cricket, and we once again thank him for his courage in speaking out.”

Six former Yorkshire gamers had been beforehand fined by the CDC after being discovered responsible of utilizing racist language.

Separately, a damning report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) final month revealed “widespread” racism, sexism and classism in English cricket.

The ICEC was established in 2021 following the racism scandal surrounding the remedy of Rafiq.