Azeem Rafiq asks ECB to hold Yorkshire racism hearings in public

GEORGE DOBELL: The ECB declined to comment on the request, but it seems unlikely they will agree. Witness statements will have been given on the basis that it was a closed hearing

Azeem Rafiq has written to the ECB requesting they hold the disciplinary hearings into accusations of racism at Yorkshire in public in the interests of "transparency and closure".

The club and seven past or present employees were charged by the Cricket Discipline Commission (the CDC; the ECB's supposedly independent disciplinary arm) in relation to the allegations which came to light in 2020.

With interest in the case remaining high and several people in some way connected with it suggesting their voices had not been heard, Azeem believes a public hearing is the only way to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

As a key witness, Azeem would be cross-examined by the defendants' lawyers at any hearing.

"It's important for transparency and closure that the whole truth is told in front of the world," he told The Cricketer. "There seems to have been a lot of chatter about people not being heard, so this would be a good opportunity for them to make their case.

"The reputation and integrity of the game are at stake. It's important this happens.

"I don't have anything to hide. I've said all along I will do this in public. My family and I need closure from this never-ending situation. I'm sure may of the defendants feel the same way. So, let's get it all out in public and people can make their own minds' up.

"Why are sports-related hearings always behind closed doors? Surely open justice should apply to sport as much as it does to any other area? There doesn't seem to be any obvious obstacle in any of cricket's rulebooks about doing this."

^{Yorkshire CCC and seven past or present employees of the club have been charged by the Cricket Discipline Commission (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)}

The ECB declined to comment on the request, but it seems unlikely they will agree. Witness statements will have been given on the basis that it was a closed hearing (with a full report to follow) and there could be a significant delay if those statements required resubmitting.

Azeem is not the only person requesting a public hearing, though. Robin Smith, the former chair of the club, has also suggested a public enquiry. Unlike Azeem, however, Smith (and Steve Denison, another former Yorkshire chair) declined the invitation to appear before the House of Commons' Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMS) or be interviewed as part of the Squire Patton Boggs (SPB) enquiry.

The SPB enquiry concluded that at least two Yorkshire players – one of them a player-coach – had used the P word and that another player had said "There are too many of you lot; we need to do something about it" to a group of Asian players. It also concluded senior management were "dismissive of the concerns of race discrimination" and that the club "failed to act in a manner required under its own policies".

Most of those calling for a public enquiry – and suggesting their voices have not been heard at this stage - were invited to give evidence to both the DCMS committee and the Squire Patton Boggs enquiry. In many cases, they declined to do so.

Azeem is also understood to have been charged with bringing the game into disrepute after anti-Semitic social media posts from 2011 came to light. He is expected to plead guilty to the charges.

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