BBC removes Michael Vaughan from radio show after racism allegations

Michael Vaughan has denied the allegations on him in the ‘Azeem Rafiq racism issue’.

Michael Vaughan | GETTY

The BBC has removed former England skipper Michael Vaughan from the Radio 5 Tuffers and Vaughan show after the racism allegations. He was named in a report looking into allegations of institutional racism at Yorkshire made by former player Azeem Rafiq, the broadcaster said on Friday (November 5).

Vaughan, in a column for The Telegraph, revealed he too was accused of racism by former Yorkshire and England U-19 cricketer Rafiq along with England batter Gary Ballance. 

The Englishman was alleged to have told Rafiq and two other Asian players as they walked onto the field together that there were “too many of you lot, we need to do something about it". But he has denied the accusations for his part. 

ALSO READ: Rana Naved-Ul-Hasan backs Azeem Rafiq, says he heard racist comments from Michael Vaughan

The BBC said in a statement: “(We) take any allegations of racism extremely seriously. The allegation against Michael Vaughan pre-dates his time working for the BBC, we were not part of the investigation conducted by Yorkshire County Cricket Club and we have had no access to the subsequent report."

“However, we were made aware of a single allegation which Michael strongly denies and we have been monitoring the situation closely."

“We have made the editorial decision that Michael won’t appear as a presenter on 5 Live’s Tuffers and Vaughan Show on Monday."

After the reports, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) banned Yorkshire from hosting international and major matches till pending inquiry and also announced that Balance, who last played for England in 2017, won't be considered for selection as of now. They haven't mentioned anything regarding Vaughan till now. 

Yorkshire chairman Roger Hutton resigned earlier on Friday, accusing the club’s executives of failing to accept and learn from racism allegations raised by Rafiq.

The club said that Hanif Malik and Stephen Willis had also stepped down from its board and that Lord Kamlesh Patel had been appointed to replace Hutton.

(With REUTERS Inputs)

 
 

By - 06 Nov, 2021

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