Azeem Rafiq will have wanted vindication but at least we have a decisive understanding of what is and what is not acceptableAfter charges against him of bringing cricket into disrepute were dismissed on Friday, Michael Vaughan said in what was generally a well-judged statement that “there are no winners in this process”. To say that you can only be white, and never have experienced the kind of discrimination that made the process necessary.So let’s be clear: the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) vindicated Azeem Rafiq. Having experienced racism at Yorkshire, having found the proper channels blocked when he tried to act, having had his life turned upside down after being forced to go public, he will have wanted, and deserves, for...
The racist abuse aimed at the Real Madrid striker is becoming routine and there seems to be little appetite to drive changeIn 1997, Roberto Carlos was racially abused while playing his first clásico for Real Madrid. Barcelona fans made monkey chants every time he touched the ball, held up racist banners and even scratched the word “monkey” on his car as a special treat for him to find later.No charges or punishments were issued and if, after complaining publicly, Carlos was hoping for a little professional solidarity at this most harrowing of moments, he was out of luck. “This man talks a lot, he talks too much, he doesn’t know our fans and he hasn’t been here for long enough...
Report released on Friday shows clubs are not doing enough and without radical transparency there is no short-term solutionAccording to the business guru Jim Collins, the journey from being a good organisation to becoming a great organisation is built on the willingness of leaders to confront the brutal facts. Productive change cannot happen without that foundation. How does football’s equality journey measure against that yardstick? Does football fully confront the brutal reality of inequality in the game? Do we honestly confront our uncomfortable truths or do we soothe ourselves with the balm of comfortable half-truths?Recent data suggests that stubborn historical challenges remain. The Black Football Partnership revealed last week that only 4.4% of managers in England are black compared with...
Middlesex’s Mike O’Farrell and Hampshire’s Rod Bransgrove shone an unintended light with their painful remarks at the DCMS racism hearing“The other thing in the diversity bit is the football and rugby worlds become much more attractive to the Afro-Caribbean community. In terms of the south Asian community, we find that they do not want to commit the time that is necessary to get to the next step. They prefer to go into educational fields.”“I know one Caribbean overseas player … who termed himself ‘Token’, so there was a degree of humour in it … It’s difficult to call it offensive.” Continue reading...
Every day of silence on Azeem Rafiq’s experience was a missed chance to tackle a problem that has blighted English cricketOn Saturday morning the BBC broadcast an interview with the former England captain Michael Vaughan about accusations of racism, that he has repeatedly denied, made against him by his former teammate Azeem Rafiq. If it was a deeply uncomfortable experience for Vaughan, who has been dropped from the Test Match Special team covering the forthcoming Ashes, then he was at least optimistic. “How we move on from this situation is the key,” Vaughan argued with regards to the Yorkshire scandal exposed by Rafiq. “I firmly believe that it’s education, honest conversations, people admitting that things may have been said and...