Explained: Azeem Rafiq and the Yorkshire racism row that has shaken English cricket

The Yorkshire racism row took a distressing turn on Tuesday when 30-year-old Azeem Rafiq revealed more details of the "discrimination" he faced at the English county side.

Rafiq, a former England U-19 skipper told a Parliamentary Committee that Gary Ballance and Alex Hales would often refer to him as P***, a racist word, and 'Kevin', a derogatory name for people of colour. The off-spinner also alleged that Ballance and other Yorkshire teammates passed comments like 'you lot sit there near the toilets' and 'elephant washers'.

The racist treatment which he faced for years took a huge toll on his mental health, Rafiq said during the hearing. On Wednesday, he told Sky Sports he hoped that making public his disturbing experiences would "open the floodgates" for others like him to come forward.

Who is Azeem Rafiq and what is the row about?

Azeem Rafiq is a 30-year-old Karachi-born English off-spinner who had captained the England U-19s. Rafiq has played 39 first-class games in which he has taken 72 wickets. He has represented Yorkshire in T20 and first-class cricket from 2009 to 2014 followed by a second stint from 2016 to 2018.

The row came to light in an interview with ESPNCricinfo last September, where Rafiq accused Yorkshire of "institutional racism" and said his experience at the county club had driven him very close to committing suicide.

"I was living my family's dream as a professional cricketer, but inside I was dying. I was dreading going to work. I was in pain every day," he had said.

Also Read | Rafiq predicts 'floodgates' will open in cricket racism crisis

Soon after, former Pakistan and England internationals Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Monte Lynch also claimed to have faced racist abuse in country cricket from both Yorkshire players and fans.

Rafiq's claims of racial discrimination were backed most recently by Cricket World Cup winner Adil Rashid, who recollected that former England skipper Michael Vaughan had directed racist comments to a bunch of Asian players in Yorkshire.

He had claimed that Vaughan said to a group of the team's Asian players that there were "too many of you lot, we need to do something about it" before a match in 2009. Vaughan denied making any such comment.

In August this year, Yorkshire's erstwhile chairman, having called Rafiq "disrespectful and discourteous" after he alleged racism, issued an apology on behalf of the club.

The findings of a formal investigation conducted by Yorkshire into Rafiq's claims published in September stated that he was a victim of racial harassment.

What happened next?

A lot has happened since the findings of the independent panel's report were published. However, Yorkshire chose not to take any disciplinary action against their players.

A week after that decision was made, club chairman Roger Sutton resigned from his post. Chief executive Mark Arthur also tendered his resignation.

Ballance admitted to using racist language to Rafiq, who he described as his "best mate in cricket". Vaughan was dropped by the BBC from one of their radio shows.

Yorkshire's sponsors, which includes Nike, among others, have backed out. The county has also been barred from hosting England matches.

England internationals Joe Root, Eoin Morgan and Moeen Ali have called for the ECB to tackle racism in cricket and expressed their solidarity with Rafiq. Root, in fact, when asked if he had witnessed racist behaviour by Yorkshire players, said he hadn't. This left Rafiq "incredibly hurt".

The UK Parliament initiated a hearing into the matter on Tuesday and invited all associated parties to submit evidence. Rafiq was granted parliamentary privilege — a freedom that protects him from legal action and which he used to recount how he felt "isolated and humiliated". He told lawmakers that he lost his cricket career to racism.

During the hearing, he also accused former England pacer Tim Bresnan of making racist comments and bullying a group of seven Asian players. He alleged that commentator David Lloyd was a "closet racist". Both Lloyd and Bresnan issued apologies but the latter, however, denied the racism charges against him.

Since Sutton's exit, Yorkshire's new chairman Kamlesh Patel has backed Rafiq and promised seismic change. Patel's promise could be put to the acid test when he is to decide whether Yorkshire head coach Andrew Gale and director of cricket Martyn Moxon can continue in their roles at the county. If the club is to move forward, they can not continue, Rafiq has said.

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