We ‘got it wrong’ over Rafiq case – PCA

Professional Cricketers’ Association chief executive Rob Lynch says the union “got it wrong” with Azeem Rafiq’s racism allegations against Yorkshire.

Lynch told the committee on Tuesday that the PCA “should have stepped in” during Yorkshire’s investigation.

“We had some failings and have learnt a lot of lessons,” he said.

“We applaud Azeem for his courage and bravery for being a whistleblower to create the necessary change within the game.

“PCA have offered support to Azeem throughout his career but clearly in this dispute with Yorkshire we did not meet the standards we would have wished to.

“We have apologised to him for where we went wrong. We have listened to Azeem about the issues in the game and what can be done better, and a number of changes have been introduced.”

The PCA is the representative body for male and female players in England and Wales, and Lynch was one of four PCA representatives who spoke before the DCMS select committee.

They criticised Yorkshire’s handling of Rafiq’s allegations and admitted racism was a problem in wider cricket, but said improvements were being made.

‘We put too much faith in Yorkshire’

Rafiq first spoke about his experiences of racism in September 2020. Since then, Yorkshire County Cricket Club have carried out an investigation that has been heavily criticised.

“Azeem was right,” Lynch said. “One of the key learnings that we have made is that we should have put more public pressure on both Yorkshire and the ECB [England and Wales Cricket Board].

“What we did was put too much faith in the process that Yorkshire were undertaking, or at least telling us they were undertaking. That was wrong.

“We should have said in the media that we wanted Yorkshire to conclude the inquiry in a much more timely manner and make those findings known. The engagement we had with Yorkshire was sub-par.”

The PCA’s non-executive chair Julian Metherell said that he tried to contact Yorkshire’s former chair Roger Hutton, who resigned in November before the initial DCMS hearing.

“Those calls and emails went unanswered until I sent a note to Mr Hutton saying we were under increasing pressure from the media to comment and I would be forced to go public,” he said.

“Mr Hutton then did speak to me but I’m afraid, as this committee well knows, nothing we received from Yorkshire, at that time, was in any way helpful.”

Lord Patel has since replaced Hutton as Yorkshire chair and an independent whistleblowing hotline has been opened for victims of discrimination.

PCA aims to establish code of conduct on racism

The PCA representatives said they had been working with the ECB to produce a five-point plan that has “12 tangible actions”.

It aims to tackle discrimination and racism in cricket, and Metherell said it would include a ‘code of conduct’ being established for the domestic game, but he denied an independent regulator was needed.

The PCA is also set to bring in its own independent whistleblower hotline, recruit a director of equality, inclusion and diversity and roll out an education programme, which will involve Rafiq.

“I have been speaking to Azeem quite regularly since November and agreed we will work with Azeem on the education programme going forward,” said Metherell.

“We have a clear code of conduct on drugs and gambling – it is zero tolerance – but we don’t have it for racism. We have to have clear sanctions and zero tolerance on racism.”

Opposition to reform ‘abhorrent and totally obstructive’

The session concluded with a question about Yorkshire chair Lord Patel saying a group of individuals was “actively seeking to delay and derail” reform at the club.

“We only know what we read in the press and what Lord Patel has said but if they are accurate, it is abhorrent and totally obstructive,” said Metherell.

“Frankly, these are some of the great barriers we face in trying to make cricket a more inclusive place for the game we love.

“These minorities cannot prevail, they won’t win and, with your support, and the support of the other key stakeholders, we have got to drive this out of the game. There is no place for it in cricket.”

Rafiq watched the hearing and later tweeted to say it had been a “refreshing experience”.

“To hear someone in the game show leadership in the manner Julian Metherell has gives me some hope for the future,” he said.