In September, Yorkshire off-spinner Azeem Rafiq had filed a complaint to the board over the racist remarks he was subjected to. He took up to the Yorkshire Cricket Club to look into this issue, where his teammate referred to him as “P*ki”.
A report from ESPNcricinfo also revealed that this teammate of Rafiq, a senior member of the side, also requested other teammates of his to not talk to him as he was a “P*ki”. He was also mocked by the accused person whenever they saw a south-east Asian man walking past, asking if they were his relatives.
Learn more 👉 Yorkshire admit Azeem Rafiq was subjected to racial harassment
A lot of these remarks led to Rafiq getting depressed, but the accused insists he would have stopped had he known he was hurting. The incident got a lot of people divided on social media and has opened up a different avenue of debate.
Rafiq’s report concluded that the statements aimed at him were against the equality act. However, upon reviewing the incident, a report on the issue ruled these comments out as “friendly and good-natured banter”.
The panel reviewing this incident included Asian members, who denied the fact that Rafiq was offended when the comments were made. They concluded that he did not take these comments in good spirit and should not be getting offended by it.
They also revealed that he often used “Zimbo from Zimbabwe” to describe Zimbabwians. It is being viewed as derogatory and racist, but there are contrary views suggesting it is like calling New Zealanders as “Kiwis” or Australians as “Aussies”. There is a belief among the panel that action should be taken against Rafiq for his disrespectful addressal of Zimbabweans.
The England and Wales Cricket Board will be sent the information regarding this incident and will be reviewed by the top board. As it stands, YCC has remained adamant to not penalize any of the cricketers or staff through Rafiq’s remarks.
Azeem, who is currently suing the Yorkshire board, had reportedly turned down a 100,000 pound cheque to remain silent about the incident in the past.
