England leg-spinner Adil Rashid has backed up the racism allegations levelled against former skipper Michael Vaughan by ex-Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq.
Rafiq had claimed that he faced “institutional racism” during his stint at the Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC) and Vaughan was racist towards him and other Asian Yorkshire team-mates.
As per Rafiq, Vaughan had told him and two other Asian players that there are "too many of you lot, we need to do something about it" before a match in 2009.
See Also: Rana Naved-Ul-Hasan backs Azeem Rafiq, says he heard racist comments from Michael Vaughan
In a statement to The Cricketer, Rashid said: “Racism is a cancer in all walks of life and unfortunately in professional sports too, and is something which of course has to be stamped out. I wanted to concentrate as much as possible on my cricket and to avoid distractions to the detriment of the team but I can confirm Azeem Rafiq’s recollection of Michael Vaughan’s comments to a group of us Asian players.”
“I’m encouraged by the fact that a Parliamentary Committee seems to be trying to improve the situation, whether that’s holding people accountable or getting changes made at an institutional level. These can only be positive developments. I will of course be more than happy to support any official efforts when the time is right.”
“For now though, these matters are of an intensely personal nature and I will not be commenting on them further. I ask you to respect my privacy and allow me to focus on my cricket. I want to thank the ECB, the fans and especially my teammates for all of their support. We didn’t get the result we wanted in this World Cup, but I hope that the unity of our dressing room and the leadership of our captain [Eoin Morgan] will propel us forward to achieve what we deserve in the future.”
Earlier this month, Vaughan had categorically denied Rafiq's allegations. The 2005 Ashes-winning captain also cited that he was approached in December 2020 to talk to the independent panel probing Rafiq's allegations of racism at Yorkshire.
“I completely and categorically deny that I ever said those words. I have nothing to hide. The ‘you lot’ comment never happened,” Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
“Anyone trying to recollect words said 10 years ago will be fallible but I am adamant those words were not used. If Rafiq believes something was said at the time to upset him then that is what he believes.”
Meanwhile, BBC has removed Michael Vaughan from the Radio 5 Tuffers and Vaughan show after the racism allegations.
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."
