England and Wales Cricket Board investigates racist incidents at Edgbaston

After many came forward with reports of racist abuse by many in the crowd gathered at Edgbaston to watch the fourth day of the fifth Test match between England and India on Monday, an investigation into the incident has been initiated.

Former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq, who gave a testimony against institutional racism rampant in the Yorkshire County Cricket Club last year, highlighted many of these claims made on social media. He retweeted a Twitter thread where many explained what had happened at the stadium.

 This led to the officials at Edgbaston to look into these incidents which are said to be ‘discriminatory language’ used ‘by spectators’.

Rafiq, whose testimony in front of a parliamentary committee led to a thorough investigation into Yorkshire, ultimately led to the club being charged by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) along with major amendments to address the issues.

Chief Executive at Edgbaston, Stuart Cain said, “I’m gutted by these reports as we’re working hard to make Edgbaston a safe, welcoming environment for all.”

“Having seen the initial tweets, I’ve spoken personally to the gentleman who raised them and we’re now speaking to the stewards in this area to establish what happened.”

“Nobody should be subject to any form of abuse at Edgbaston. So, once we’ve got all the facts, we will make sure this issue is addressed swiftly,” he added.

Official Team India supporters’ group ‘The Bharat Army’ also claimed that a number of the group members were racially abused by a few at the stadium. A tweet on the group’s page said, “Sad to say many of our members experienced racist abuse from a very small minority of individuals. We will work with @Edgbaston to share all your feedback.”

“Thank you to those England fans who stood by us.”

The ECB released a statement that read, “We are very concerned to hear reports of racist abuse at today’s Test match. We are in contact with colleagues at Edgbaston, who will investigate.”

“There is no place for racism in cricket,” it concluded.