Azeem Rafiq (; born 27 February 1991) is an English

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who played professionally in England for

Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yorkshire County Cricket Club is a professional Cricket club based in Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the County Championship, the top tier of English First-class cricket. Nicknamed "Vikings". Yorkshire also competes in T20 Blast, O ...

. A right-arm

off-spin Off spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners bowl with their right-arm and a finger spin action. Their normal delivery is called an off break, which spins from left to ...

bowler, Rafiq played for the county between 2008 and 2014 and 2016 and 2018, making his senior debut at the age of 17. He captained the England under-15 and under-19 sides, and in 2012 became the youngest man to captain a Yorkshire side as well as the first person of Asian origin to do so.Hashim, Taha (17 August 2020
The extraordinary life of Azeem Rafiq

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

online. Retrieved 7 September 2020. In September 2020, Rafiq made accusations of racism and bullying in Yorkshire. An independent report found that a number of his accusations were true and the case became a major media story in the United Kingdom. It led to several resignations at the club and was the subject of investigations by the

England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board, aka ECB, is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test ...

(ECB) and the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee in the

British parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

Early life

Rafiq was born in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, Pakistan, in 1991, one of five children, and moved to the United Kingdom in 2001. He grew up in

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

and attended Holgate School in the town;Westerby, John (8 July 2008
Azeem Rafiq bowls Yorkshire’s costliest overs
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''. Retrieved 6 November 2021. as a child he played cricket for Barnsley Cricket Club and Yorkshire schools sides.Hopps, David (2008
Yorkshire throw a warm arm around 'sloughened' Rafiq
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 9 July 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2021.Azeem Rafiq

CricInfo ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...

. Retrieved 14 August 2012. He was a member of Yorkshire's cricket academy and captained the England under-15 side in 2006. The same year, Rafiq was the recipient of a

Sport England Sport England is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Its role is to build the foundations of a community sport system by working with national governing bodies of sport, and other funded partners, ...

award and came to the attention of England bowling coach David Parsons, who earmarked him as a possible future

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

bowler.Brett, Oliver (26 June 2007
Barnsley's teenage spin sensation

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...

. Retrieved 8 July 2008. He was Yorkshire's Junior Performer of the Year in 2007 and the club's academy player of the year in 2008 as well as being awarded a Brian Johnston Memorial Trust scholarship.News about former Johneers scholars
Brian Johnston Memorial Trust, 2011. Archived 15 June 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2021. He made his Second XI debut for the county during the same year.
CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 November 2021.

Senior cricket career

Rafiq made his senior debut for Yorkshire's First XI in a

Twenty20 Cup The T20 Blast, officially known as the Vitality Blast for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in England and Wales. The competition was established by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003. T20 Blast is ...

match against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

in June 2008. He bowled two overs in the match which Yorkshire won.Ward, John (27 June 2008
Rashid stars to put Yorkshire through

. Retrieved 4 November 2021. At the time however, Rafiq did not hold a UK passport and so did not qualify as a domestic player. Yorkshire, who were only allowed to register one overseas player for the competition, had not deregistered their other overseas player and, as a result, were expelled from the competition.Player row sparks Twenty20 chaos

, 8 July 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2021.Yorkshire launch Twenty20 appeal

, 11 July 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2021.Warner, David (2009) ''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'', 2009. Reprinted in Hamilton, Duncan (ed) (2011) ''Wisden on Yorkshire'', pp. 194–195. London: Bloomsbury.
Available online
Retrieved 6 November 2021.) In August Rafiq was given special dispensation by the

(ECB) to play for Yorkshire for the remainder of the season while his application for British citizenship was being processed;Azeem Rafiq available for Yorkshire

, 21 August 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2021. Rafiq's family had begun the process of applying for citizenship some time before, but the process had been "prolonged" by the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

. His citizenship was confirmed later in the yearAfter a nightmare 2008, Tykes spinner’s star is on the rise
''

The Press ''The Press'' () is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand, owned by media business Stuff (company), Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday t ...

'', 6 January 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2021. and in October he signed a three-year senior contract with Yorkshire.Rafiq signs three-year Yorkshire deal

, 3 October 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2021. He captained the county's academy side in a series of matches in Abu Dhabi during the winter and toured South Africa with the England under-19 side in early 2009.

England under-19 captaincy

Rafiq made his first-class and List-A debuts for Yorkshire during the 2009 season; aged 18, he scored a century for the side in his second first-class match.Karachi-born Azeem Rafiq makes Yorkshire history
''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...

'', 23 July 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2021.Ward, John (19 June 2009
Rafiq shows talent with a ton

. Retrieved 6 November 2021. He played for England under-19s against

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

during the summer, taking six wickets in an inning at

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

and another

five-wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batter. Takin ...

at Derby in the two under-19 Test matchesEngland Under-19 cruise to ten-wicket win

, 8 July 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2021.Bangladesh survive Rafiq spell

, 15 July 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2021. before captaining the side during the under-19

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

matches which followed. He was captain of the side during the under-19 tour of Bangladesh later in the year, but gave up the role halfway through the ODI series, before being re-appointed to captain England at the Under-19 World Cup held in New Zealand in early 2010.Azeem Rafiq reinstated as captain

, 16 December 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2021. Following the tournament, the team's then-coach Mark Robinson called Rafiq a "fierce competitor" and an "outstanding captain" who had "led the team really, really well".Coach sees first-class talent in Under-19s

, 30 January 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2021. Later in 2010, however, Rafiq was dropped from the side for breaking mid-match curfews during a series of matches against Sri Lanka under-19s; he responded by publishing an attack against the side's new coach John Abrahams on his

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account, deleting the tweets once he realised they were publicly viewable.Andrew Strauss warns players about using social media

, 29 July 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010. Yorkshire suspended him Yorkshire suspend Azeem Rafiq following Twitter rant

, 29 July 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2021. and the ECB later gave him a one-month ban from all cricket as a result of the tweets.Twitter tirade lands Azeem Rafiq one-month ECB ban

, 4 August 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
Archived version
(4 August 2010). Retrieved 4 August 2010.)Rafiq suspended for one month after Twitter tirade

, 4 August 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2021.

Loan to Derbyshire

After spending the winter playing grade cricket in Australia, Rafiq spent a month at the start of the 2011 season on loan at

Derbyshire County Cricket Club Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Derbyshire. Its limited overs team is called the Derbyshire Falco ...

to play regular first-team cricket. He played three

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

and five Clydesdale Bank 40 matches for the county, taking 11 wickets in what was considered to have been a successful spell at the club, before returning to Yorkshire to play in their Twenty20 Cup campaign later in the season.Hardcastle, Graham (12 June 2011
Derbyshire skipper Luke Sutton sings Azeem Rafiq's praises
''

Telegraph & Argus The ''Telegraph & Argus'' is the daily newspaper for Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is published six times each week, from Monday to Saturday inclusive. The newspaper has offices in Newhall Way, Bradford, from where its journalists work ...

''. Retrieved 6 November 2021.Azeem Rafiq joins Derbyshire on loan

, 23 April 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2021. Speaking after the loan, Rafiq said that he had gained confidence from his time at Derbyshire and "felt loved and wanted out there".Hardcastle, Graham (16 June 2011
Azeem Rafiq's loan spell to benefit Yorkshire
''

''. Retrieved 6 November 2021. At the end of the season he signed a two-year contract extension with Yorkshire after the club was relegated from Division One of the County Championship.Yorkshire re-shuffle begins

, 22 September 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2021.

Yorkshire captain and release

Azeem Rafiq 2017 Yorks v Hampshire bowling

Following the dropping of fellow spin bowler Adil Rashid, Rafiq came back into Yorkshire's County Championship team in 2012, the first time he had played in the county's Championship side since 2010.Winter, Alex (29 May 2012
Rashid dropped by Yorkshire

. Retrieved 6 November 2021. In June, he captained Yorkshire in six matches in the

2012 Twenty20 Cup The 2012 FriendsLife T20 was the tenth edition of what would later become the T20 Blast, England's premier domestic Twenty20 competition. The competition ran from 12 June to 25 August 2012. The teams in the tournament remained the same as the pr ...

when Andrew Gale was injured, becoming the youngest captain in the county's history and the first player of Asian origin to captain the Yorkshire side.Culley, Jon (24 July 2012
Azeem Rafiq shows his credentials

. Retrieved 6 November 2021. The side won five of the six matches he was captain forAldred, Tanya (14 November 2021
Azeem Rafiq: from England hopeful to revealing cricket’s racism
''

''. Retrieved 14 November 2021. and Yorkshire reached the final of the

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

, losing to

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

with Gale back in the side as captain; Rafiq took one wicket in the final.Final (N), Cardiff, Aug 25 2012, Friends Life t20

. Retrieved 6 November 2021. Towards the end of the 2012 season, Rafiq was instrumental in Yorkshire's promotion back to Division One of the County Championship. He played in ten of the county's 16 Championship matches during the season and took 26 wickets. He took three wickets and scored important runs in a victory over

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

in a rain-affected match at Scarborough at the end of August,Smith, Les (31 August 2012
McGrath's wise head serves Yorkshire well

, 31 August 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2021.Yorkshire beat Gloucestershire to go second

, 31 August 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2021. and against

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

in September scored two half-centuries and took eight wickets in the match, including a five-wicket haul, to help guarantee Yorkshire's promotion.Dobell, George (13 September 2012
McGrath gets Yorkshire over the line

. Retrieved 6 November 2021.Dobell, George (14 September 2012
Yorkshire secure redemption after promotion

. Retrieved 6 November 2021. Journalist George Dobell was impressed with Rafiq's "grit and determination" while batting in the first inningsDobell, George (11 September 2012
Rafiq and Sidebottom show Yorkshire grit

. Retrieved 6 November 2021. and with his bowling skill throughout the match.Dobell, George (12 September 2012
Yorkshire take control and lead

. Retrieved 6 November 2021. Rafiq's five-wicket haul was the first of his senior career and his match figures of 8/115 were his best in first-class cricket. Dobell wrote that he considered that Rafiq had a chance of playing for England at some point and that "he has a golden future". The following season, Rafiq captained the side again in Twenty20 matches in Gale's absenceBrooks' five demolishes Leicestershire

, 9 July 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2021.Hardcastle, Graham (15 July 2013
Rafiq leads by example as Yorkshire secure win
''

The Northern Echo ''The Northern Echo'' is a regional daily morning newspaper based in the town of Darlington in North East England, serving mainly southern County Durham and northern Yorkshire. The paper covers national as well as regional news. In 2007, its the ...

''. Retrieved 6 November 2021. and took a five-wicket haul in a one-day match against the touring Bangladesh A side.Rafiq five leads Yorkshire to thrilling win

, 9 August 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2021. He spent time with England development squads, but a knee injury caused him problems, and he played rarely for Yorkshire other than in Twenty20 matches.Warner, David (2014) Yorkshire: Everything but the crown, ''

'', 2014, p. 686. London: Bloomsbury. Despite his role in the Twenty20 side, the lack of regular cricket throughout the season led to him choosing to leave the county at the end of the 2014 season, aged 23 and with his bowling action breaking down.Hopps, David (1 July 2016
Yorkshire squeeze Roses win as Carver clings on

. Retrieved 6 November 2021.Dobell, George (16 August 2014
Frustrated Rafiq to leave Yorkshire

. Retrieved 6 November 2021.Kelly, Francis (5 April 2017
Rafiq determined to make second coming count

. Retrieved 4 November 2021. Speaking in 2017, he said that he had "lost a lot of confidence in my body and confidence in myself as a person" and did not play professional cricket for almost two years.

Return to Yorkshire and second release

Rafiq came close to signing for Derbyshire at the start of the 2015 season, but the issues with his bowling action continued to cause problems.Hopps, David (10 July 2016
Rashid to the fore as Yorkshire cling on

. Retrieved 6 November 2021. After playing club cricket for Barnsley and coaching in Dubai during the English winter, Rafiq bowled at the new Yorkshire coach (his old captain, Andrew Gale) in a net session in 2016. He impressed Gale and was asked to play a Second XI match; he was back in the county's First XI the following week, being named player of the match in the side's first win in the

2016 T20 Blast The 2016 NatWest T20 Blast was the fourteenth edition of the T20 Blast, the domestic T20 competition run by the ECB. The league consisted of the 18 first-class county teams divided into two divisions of nine teams each with fixtures played betwe ...

. He took 24 wickets during the season, 15 of them in the t20Blast, and was awarded his

county cap In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

. He continued to play for the county in 2017, taking a five-wicket haul in a Twenty20 match for the first time in August, playing in all competitions and was the county's leading wicket-taker in the One-Day Cup.Hopps, David (17 August 2021
Lyth plunders highest score in English T20 to inspire Yorkshire

. Retrieved 6 November 2021.Hafez, Shamoon (4 September 2020
Azeem Rafiq: Yorkshire's former spinner on 'dreading every second' of playing for the county

. Retrieved 7 November 2021. The following year, however, he played only in Twenty20 matches and was released by Yorkshire at the end of the season, with the club citing a limited budget.Yorkshire's Azeem Rafiq opens up about personal tragedy in difficult 2018 season
''

The Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire, although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'', 9 September 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2021.Dobell, George (2 September 2020
Azeem Rafiq was 'on brink of suicide' after experiencing racism at Yorkshire

. Retrieved 4 November 2021. He spent some time playing in Pakistan in 2018, including making a single first-class appearance for Sui Southern Gas Company in the

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition in Pakistan. With few exceptions, it has been staged annually since it was first played during the 1953–54 season. Domestic cricket in Pakistan has undergone many reorganis ...

, before playing

minor counties cricket The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

for Lincolnshire County Cricket Club in 2019.First-class Matches played by Azeem Rafiq

Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), formerly known as Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP), is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan ...

. Retrieved 5 November 2021.

Personal life

Rafiq is married and he and his wife have a son and a daughter. Their first child was

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can often result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. T ...

in 2018 after his wife had endured a difficult pregnancy, and shortly afterwards Rafiq was released by Yorkshire; he has spoken of the impact of his release, the way he was treated at the club and the stillbirth had on his mental health and that he considered suicide.Rafiq opens Matki Chai

Professional Cricketers' Association The Professional Cricketers' Association is the representative body of past and present first-class cricketers in England and Wales, founded in 1967 by former England fast bowler Fred Rumsey (when it was known as the Cricketers' Association). In ...

, 20 July 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2021. After the stillbirth the couple spent some time in Pakistan, with Rafiq on compassionate leave from Yorkshire. It was at this time that he first made Yorkshire aware of alleged incidents of racism at the club.Morgan, Tim, Rumsby, Ben (10 November 2021
Exclusive: Yorkshire chiefs missed chance for amicable deal after ‘washing hands’ of Azeem Rafiq, says report
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

''. Retrieved 15 November 2021. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

lockdown in 2020, Rafiq and his sister began to provide food for

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

and other key workers in Barnsley and to raise money for the local

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...

. This led to the siblings setting up a tea-shop business based out of the shipping container. He opened a fish and chip shop in Barnsley in 2021Dobell, George (16 November 2021
Azeem Rafiq might have lost a career to racism, but his crucial legacy is playing out in real time
''

The Cricketer ''The Cricketer'' is a monthly English cricket magazine providing writing and photography from international, county, club and schools cricket. Overview The magazine was founded in 1921 by Sir Pelham Warner, an ex-England captain turned cric ...

'' (online). Retrieved 16 November 2021. and has continued to gain qualifications to coach cricket since leaving the professional game.

Racism at Yorkshire

In 2020, in an interview with Taha Hashim of ''

'', Rafiq revealed how he experienced racism, harassment and bullying during his time playing for

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. The interview was initially about his work during the COVID-19 pandemic and his new business, but when Hashim asked about his early career Rafiq opened up about the racism he had encountered at the club. He spoke about having an "openly racist" captain at one point and how on one occasion a senior player had commented on the number of Asian players at the club, suggesting that "we need to have a word about that". In further interviews with

, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and the Cricket Badger

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

, he described how he believed he had been made to feel like an "outsider" and outlined instances where he believed that the club was institutionally racist in its approach.Azeem Rafiq: Yorkshire contact ex-spinner over racism claims

, 3 September 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2021.Martin, Ali (3 September 2020
Yorkshire investigate 'institutional racism' claims made by Azeem Rafiq
''

''. Retrieved 9 November 2021. He described how he had initially tried to fit in with the culture within the club and had done things that "as a Muslim, I now look back on and regret", and went on to describe specific instances of racist behaviour and that he had first reported his concerns about behaviour by people in the club in 2017 but felt that he had been ignored. These included instances of behaviour by spectators at matches towards Asian players.Dobell, George (11 November 2021
Azeem Rafiq racism report: Yorkshire criticised for 'woefully inadequate' response to complaints

. Retrieved 12 November 2021. Rafiq had first raised concerns about incidents of racism in Yorkshire in August 2018 following the stillbirth of his first child. It has been reported that his concerns were dismissed as "vague" by Yorkshire's Chief Executive Officer Mark Arthur, and that the club failed to adequately investigate the issues at this point, apparently believing that Rafiq did not wish to pursue the issue.

Investigations and legal action

Yorkshire contacted Rafiq in early September 2020 to discuss the allegations, and announced that they would be setting up a "formal investigation" into his claims as well as a "wider review" of its "policies and culture". Global law firm

Squire Patton Boggs Squire Patton Boggs is an international law firm with over 40 offices in 20 countries. It was formed in 2014 by the merger of multinational law firm Squire Sanders with Washington, D.C.–based Patton Boggs. It is one of the largest law firms in ...

was asked by Yorkshire chairman Roger Hutton, who had been appointed earlier in 2020,McKenna, Ben (5 September 2021
Roger Hutton: The Yorkshire CCC chairman who has stepped down in wake of Azeem Rafiq racism scandal
''

''. Retrieved 9 November 2021. to conduct the investigation;Azeem Rafiq: Yorkshire ask independent law firm to investigate racism allegations

, 5 September 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2021. at the same time, an independent panel chaired by Samir Pathak was set up to review the investigation's findings.Azeem Rafiq files race discrimination and harassment claim against Yorkshire
''

'', 15 December 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2021. Tom Harrison, the chief executive officer of the

(ECB), first spoke to Rafiq during the same month.Dobell, Georg
Azeem Rafiq, the most stubborn man in Yorkshire, achieves his vindication

. Retrieved 9 November 2021. Rafiq made written and verbal statements to the inquiry in November, saying that he hoped to bring about "meaningful change" at the club.Hafez, Shamoon (13 November 2020
Azeem Rafiq: Ex-Yorkshire player makes first statement in racism inquiry

. Retrieved 9 November 2021. These expanded on his initial allegations and made reference to specific instances of racist language being used, both by employees of Yorkshire and by supporters, of a culture which isolated Muslim players at the club and of a lack of development support for younger Asian players. The following month, Rafiq began an employment tribunal claim against the club, again expressing the hope that the claim would help bring about change within cricket.Azeem Rafiq files legal claim against Yorkshire after racism allegations

, 15 December 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2021. The tribunal took place in June 2021 and failed to resolve,Azeem Rafiq: Yorkshire fail to resolve dispute with former player at employment tribunal

, 17 June 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021. with Rafiq refusing to accept what has been reported as "a six-figure sum" which was dependent on him signing a

non-disclosure agreement A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also known as a confidentiality agreement (CA), confidential disclosure agreement (CDA), proprietary information agreement (PIA), or secrecy agreement (SA), is a legal contract or part of a contract between at le ...

which would have restricted his ability to speak about the case.Yorkshire settle employment tribunal with Azeem Rafiq as Lord Patel takes the helm

, 8 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.

Squire Patton Boggs report

Yorkshire received the report of the investigation from Squire Patton Boggs in August 2021Hafez, Shamoon (16 August 2021
Azeem Rafiq: Yorkshire receive investigation findings into racism allegations

. Retrieved 9 November 2021. and was asked by the ECB to provide a copy.Hafez, Shamoon (18 August 2021
Azeem Rafiq: ECB asks Yorkshire for copy of investigation findings into racism allegations

. Retrieved 9 November 2021. On 19 August the club released a statement saying that the report had found that Rafiq had been "the victim of inappropriate behaviour".Azeem Rafiq: Yorkshire admit ex-player was 'victim of inappropriate behaviour'

, 19 August 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021. They offered their "profound apologies" but said that "legal restraints" meant that they would not be able to publish the full report. Earlier in the year Rafiq had criticised the investigation process, claiming that it was "flawed" and that several key witnesses had not been asked to contribute their evidence.Jones, Rob (6 May 2021
Azeem Rafiq: I've lost faith in racism investigation at Yorkshire

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

. Retrieved 9 November 2021. Rafiq criticised the statement made by Yorkshire, stating in an interview with the

BBC Asian Network BBC Asian Network is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station's target audience is people "with an interest in British Asian lifestyles", especially those between the ages of 18 and 34. The station has produc ...

that he believed that it downplayed racism by labelling it as "inappropriate behaviour".Azeem Rafiq accuses Yorkshire of downplaying racism by calling him the victim of 'inappropriate behaviour'

, 19 August 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021. At the beginning of September MPs on the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee called for the immediate release of the report.Azeem Rafiq: Yorkshire urged to publish findings of racism inquiry 'immediately' by MPs

, 8 September 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021. On 10 September the club released a summary of the report which confirmed that the independent panel had found that seven of the 43 allegations that it investigated had been upheld, with the bulk of the other allegations not upheld due to "insufficient evidence".Azeem Rafiq: Report by Yorkshire finds former player was 'victim of racial harassment and bullying'

, 10 September 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021. The BBC reported that Roger Hutton had stated that the report had concluded there was "insufficient evidence to conclude that Yorkshire County Cricket Club is institutionally racist".Quoted in Azeem Rafiq: Report by Yorkshire finds former player was 'victim of racial harassment and bullying', ''op. cit.'' The findings of the report which had been upheld included instances of racist language being used by players at the club before 2010 and that a former coach at the club had "regularly used racist language" before 2012. It included several recommendations, including a review of club policies and of "better engagement" with local minority communities. The club's statement did not name the individuals who had used racist language and Yorkshire did not initially provide a copy of the report to Rafiq.Azeem Rafiq questions punishments after Yorkshire racism investigation

, 7 October 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021. After a court ordered that the report be released to Rafiq,Hafez, Shamoon (8 October 2021
Azeem Rafiq: Yorkshire miss deadline to produce full report to former player

. Retrieved 9 November 2021. a "heavily redacted" copy was received on 13 October; the ECB, which had also asked for a copy of the report, had not received it.Hafez, Shamoon (13 October 2021
Azeem Rafiq receives redacted version of report from Yorkshire

. Retrieved 9 November 2021. On 28 October, Yorkshire announced that they would not be taking disciplinary action against any member of staff or executive over the report's findings.Azeem Rafiq: Yorkshire will not take disciplinary action over allegations of racism by former player

, 28 October 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.

Reactions to the report findings

Rafiq responded to the announcement that Yorkshire would not be disciplining anyone at the club, by accusing the club of being more interested in protecting its reputation rather than addressing allegations of racism.ECB promises 'fair and thorough' investigation as Yorkshire take no action over Azeem Rafiq allegations

, 28 October 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021. A statement issued on his behalf questioned the decision not to discipline anyone, claiming that it was "inconceivable" that there was no one still at the club who had been involved in the events investigated. The ECB released a statement saying that it would be investigating findings of the report, although it anticipated that this would take some time to do so; Yorkshire, citing the continuing employment tribunal case, did not release the full report.

Impacts of the case

Yorkshire did not take disciplinary action against any of its staff or players.Azeem Rafiq still receiving abuse for speaking out in Yorkshire racism case
''

'', 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021. The club has been criticised for its response, with a number of its sponsors withdrawing their financial support, and on 4 November 2021, the ECB suspended the club from hosting international matches.Azeem Rafiq: Yorkshire cricket racism scandal – how we got here

, 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.Azeem Rafiq: Yorkshire call board meeting for Friday to discuss racism allegations

, 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.Waters, Chris (6 November 2021
Azeem Rafiq scandal: Yorkshire CCC engulfed in a row worse than the civil war of the 1970s
''

''. Retrieved 7 November 2021. In the wake of increasing criticism, Yorkshire chairman Roger Hutton resigned in early November 2021; this was followed by the resignation of chief executive officer Mark Arthur, whom Rafiq had been critical of, on 11 November.Mark Arthur resigns as Yorkshire chief executive in wake of racism scandal

, 11 November 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.

Allegations against Rafiq

Following Rafiq's evidence in front of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee in November 2021, it emerged that Rafiq had used anti-Semitic language in Facebook messages with another cricketer in 2011 when he was 19. Rafiq issued an unreserved apology for the messages, saying that he was "ashamed" and "a different person today."Azeem Rafiq apologises for historical anti-Semitic Facebook messages

, 18 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.Dobell, George (18 November 2021
Azeem Rafiq apologises after anti-Semitic messages surface
''

'' (online). Retrieved 18 November 2021. At the same time, a woman released text and WhatsApp messages that Rafiq had sent to her in 2015 to ''

'' newspaper. The woman, who had been 16 at the time, described the texts as "creepy" and criticised Rafiq for his treatment of women.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rafiq, Azeem 1991 births Living people Cricketers from Barnsley People educated at Holgate School, Barnsley English cricketers English people of Pakistani descent Sportspeople of Pakistani descent Yorkshire cricketers Derbyshire cricketers British Asian cricketers Lincolnshire cricketers Sui Southern Gas Company cricketers Pakistani emigrants to the United Kingdom Antisemitism in England