Health secretary Sajid Javid tweets “P**i is not banter” as pressure increases on Yorkshire
ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-2021
Yorkshire have admitted that Azeem Rafiq suffered from “racial harassment” during his time at the club•Getty Images
Yorkshire’s handling of the investigation into allegations of institutional racism by Azeem Rafiq will face further parliamentary scrutiny with the news that Roger Hutton, the club’s chairman, is to be called before the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee.Yorkshire announced last week that they would be taking no further action against any current employees, players or executives, after reviewing the report produced by an independent panel.The ECB, however, has promised to consider the “many serious allegations” contained in the report, after receiving a copy. ESPNcricinfo revealed on Monday that despite a Yorkshire player admitting to use of the word “P**i” when referring to Rafiq, it was excused by the panel on the basis that it was “banter”.In response, the health secretary, Sajid Javid, tweeted that “P**i is not banter”, adding that “heads should roll at Yorkshire”.Julian Knight, the DCMS select committee chair, said in a statement to the Press Association that Hutton would be called “to give a much fuller explanation than we have had so far”. Knight previously wrote to Yorkshire urging them to publish the report in full – something the club have so far resisted doing so on the grounds of privacy and defamation.Related
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“This is extremely concerning and it’s clear that Yorkshire County Cricket Club has questions to answer,” Knight said in response to the latest allegations. “We have monitored developments around the club’s handling of the serious allegations made by Azeem Rafiq.”We want to see much greater transparency from YCCC – it is time for them to answer their critics. We intend to call the chair of the club before the DCMS Committee to give a much fuller explanation than we have had so far.”Yorkshire admitted in September that Rafiq was “a victim of racial harassment” during his time at the club, upholding seven of 43 allegations made by the former allrounder.
But after the club released a statement saying they were “pleased” to announce their response to the report – which included the conclusion that no disciplinary action was warranted – Rafiq condemned the developments as “embarrassing”.Meanwhile, the ground sponsor at Headingley, Emerald Publishing, has added to the pressure on Yorkshire by saying “there is clearly still a great deal more to do” and that it would be seeking a response from the club.”We take all matters related to any form of racism or discriminatory behaviour seriously and expect all our partners to uphold our values,” Emerald said in a statement to PA. “As sponsors of the Headingley stadium, we are dismayed by the conclusion of an independent panel that the former player, Azeem Rafiq, suffered racial harassment and bullying during his time at the club.”Whilst the club has offered its unreserved apology for this, and has made a number of positive changes in the intervening years, there is clearly still a great deal more to do. We are pursuing the actions from the YCCC in response to their latest statement and will continue to review the findings from the tribunal and ECB investigation in due course.”
