by Bella Katz
Sports editor

FORMER Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq laid bare the full extent of his harrowing experience of racism in the sport during an explosive and emotional appearance in front of MPs today.

Rafiq concluded that racial discrimination, and his decision to take a stand against it, had cost him his career, in a game he feels has ingrained problems above and beyond his own story.

His account gave a brutal insight into the sheer scale of institutional racism present not only in English cricket, but in sport and society as a whole.

The whistleblower was giving testimony to a hearing of the digital, culture, media and sport select committee, which allowed him to speak with the protection of parliamentary privilege.

Among the most graphic revelations heard in the session, the Muslim cricketer said that, as an aspiring 15-year-old club player, he had been restrained while red wine was poured down his throat by a former Yorkshire and Hampshire player.

With particular difficulty, he described “inhuman” treatment he suffered following the stillbirth of his son in 2017, when he said Yorkshire director of cricket Martyn Moxon “got me in a room and literally ripped shreds off me.” 

Asked if he could identify a single individual who had stood up for him or who had called out acts of racism during his playing career, he said: “You had people who were openly racist and you had the bystanders. No-one felt it was important.”

The ex-player fought back tears as he told MPs about his experience when he first joined Yorkshire, describing an environment where discrimination was severe and normalised.

“Pretty early on at the club, I joined a dressing room full of my heroes: Michael Vaughan, Matthew Hoggard, part of the 2005 Ashes team,” he said. “And it was just the most surreal moment for me.

“Pretty early on, me and other people from an Asian background … there were comments such as ‘You’ll sit over there near the toilets,’ ‘elephant washers.’ The word P*** was used constantly. And there just seemed to be an acceptance in the institution from the leaders, and no-one ever stamped it out.” 

Rafiq said he started taking medication due to his deteriorating mental health, before he left Yorkshire for the first time in 2014.

When he returned, he said he initially felt settled under captain Alex Lees and coach Jason Gillespie. 

But he added: “Jason left in 2016 and it just felt the temperature in the room had been turned up. You had Andrew Gale coming in as coach and Gary Ballance as captain. 

“For the first time I started to see for what it was — I felt isolated, humiliated at times. Constant use of the word ‘P***’.”

Rafiq said the captain had racially abused him on a 2017 pre-season tour.

“We were in a place and Gary Ballance walks over and goes, ‘Why are you talking to him? You know he’s a P***’. This happened in front of team-mates. It happened in front of coaching staff.”

As well as revealing disturbing details on his time at Headingley, the 30-year-old took his accusations close to the top of the game.

He suggested that Ballance’s racially derogatory use of the name “Kevin” — ”something Gary used to describe anyone of colour in a very derogatory manner” — was “an open secret in the England dressing room.” 

He further alleged that another former England batter, Alex Hales, had given his dog the name, because it was black.

Former England batter Ballance admitted using a “racial slur” towards Rafiq in a lengthy statement issued earlier this month, in which he apologised but framed the incident as part of a long and deep friendship.

Rafiq told the committee that this was not an accurate depiction of their relationship, which he said went downhill from 2013 onwards and had become toxic by 2017.

More than once, Rafiq said his purpose was to shine a light on systemic patterns of discrimination and act as “the voice of the voiceless.”

Referring to official initiatives such as the ECB’s independent commission for equity in cricket, he warned of “delay tactics to actually deal with the issue” and said: “Action is needed, and needed now.

“To be honest, we are sick and tired of these equity commissions and these inquiries. Sick and tired of it.

“All we are asking for is equality, to be treated fairly regardless of the colour of our skin or the religion we follow, and just respect as a human race.”

MPs and anti-racist campaigners rallied around Rafiq as he delivered his testimony.

Labour MP Diane Abbott said she was “appalled to learn of the personal racism that Azeem has been subjected to as well as the institutional racism he describes.

“Yorkshire Cricket must change, and other sporting bodies should also take note — racism is never OK and turning a blind eye is always unacceptable.”

Ms Abbott’s Labour colleague Bell Ribeiro-Addy told the Morning Star: “Azeem Rafiq has shown real courage in raising his experiences of racism and Islamophobia at Yorkshire Cricket Club.

“The abuse he faced as a Muslim player was sanctioned by organisational failures at the very top and points to wider institutional failings at Yorkshire Cricket and throughout the sport.

“Sport should be an inclusive space. Alongside the ECB’s own review, the government should bring forwards a race equality strategy to tackle institutional and structural racism across society, including in sport.”

Stand Up To Racism co-convener Weyman Bennett said: “The brave testimony of Azeem Rafiq and his description of English cricket as ‘institutionally racist’ shows the reality of racism and Islamophobia that thousands of people face both in sport and in workplaces across the country.

“It’s not only Yorkshire CCC that are racism deniers. The government’s own Sewell Report denied institutional racism and led the way for institutions to refuse to recognise discrimination and abuse.

“As anti-racists we must show solidarity with Azeem Rafiq and all who speak out about the racism they face.

“We have to demand the shocking levels of institutional racism in our society are recognised, challenged and stopped.”