CDC announces Yorkshire County Cricket Club sanctions, more than two years after Azeem Rafiq came forward with racism allegations

The independent Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) published its sanctions decisions in relation to racism allegations against Yorkshire County Cricket Club last week.

Yorkshire County Cricket Club admitted four amended charges in breach of ECB Directive 3.3, after which the CDC Panel held a sanction hearing on Tuesday 27 June 2023.

In 2020, former British Asian Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq came forward and publicly addressed his encounter with racism throughout his professional cricket career. In response, Yorkshire chairman Roger Hutton announced a formal investigation into these claims, enlisting the local law firm Squire Patton Boggs to lead the inquiry. To ensure impartiality, an independent panel was established to review the findings, with a projected timeframe of three months for the results to be revealed.

Rafiq went on to initiate legal proceedings against Yorkshire, alleging that he experienced “discrimination and harassment based on his race.” Additionally, he asserted that his efforts to address racism within the club resulted in further victimisation.

In 2021, the findings were released in a report, confirming that seven out of 43 allegations against Yorkshire were upheld. The club acknowledged that Rafiq was indeed subjected to “racial harassment and bullying.” However, the complete report was not made public or shared with Rafiq. Julian Knight, the chair of the digital, culture, media, and sport committee in parliament, urged for the report and its comprehensive findings to be disclosed and subject to scrutiny by the public.

Later the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) charged Yorkshire and seven individuals, including former England internationals Michael Vaughan, Tim Bresnan, Matthew Hoggard, and Gary Ballance, as well as the club’s former captain and head coach Andrew Gale, and coaches Pyrah and John Blain, of bringing the game into disrepute.

The CDC Panel has reprimanded and fined the Yorkshire County Cricket Club a total of £400,000 and issued an immediate 48-point deduction in the 2023 County Championship, as well as a four-point deduction from the 2023 T20 Blast.

The CDC Panel has published the full reasons for the sanctions, which is available to view here.

The Panel’s sanctions against Yorkshire County Cricket Club are:

• Reprimand

• Yorkshire County Cricket Club has been fined a total of £400,000, broken down as follows in relation to each charge:

1. £80,000 in respect of Charge 1;
2. £50,000 in respect of Charge 2;
3. £135,000 in respect of Charge 3; and
4. £135,000 in respect of Charge 4;

£300,000 of the fine to be suspended for a period of two years.

• Yorkshire County Cricket Club is immediately imposed points sanctions of:

1. A 48-point deduction in the 2023 County Championship in respect of Charge 1;
2. A four-point deduction in the 2023 T20 Blast in respect of Charge 1.

ECB Chief Executive Officer Richard Gould said, “These were serious charges relating to racism over a prolonged period. 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.

“Since this hearing took place, the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket has published its report which demonstrates just how much there still is for our game to do in order to stamp out discrimination and become the inclusive sport we all want to be. We must work together as a game to learn from the events that led to this case, and to respond thoroughly to that report.

“We recognise that Yorkshire County Cricket Club has made significant progress since Azeem came forward, first under Lord Patel’s leadership and since then under its current management, and is committed to becoming an inclusive club. They have set the club on a path to a much brighter and more inclusive future, and we will continue to support the new leadership at Yorkshire to build on the progress made so far.”

These CDC sanction decisions have been made by an independent panel consisting of Tim O’Gorman (Chair of the CDC), Professor Seema Patel and Mark Milliken-Smith KC.