Michael Vaughan pulled from BBC radio show for editorial reasons

The BBC have withdrawn the former England captain from his presenting spot on the Tuffers & Vaughan Show on Five Live on Monday evening in response to the revelations in his Daily Telegraph column on Thursday

The Cricketer | 05/11/2021 at 16:59

Michael Vaughan will not take part in his regular BBC Radio cricket show next week after admitting he has been accused of racism by Azeem Rafiq.

Vaughan wrote that Rafiq claimed he had said "too many of you lot, we need to do something about it" at a group of four Asian and British Asian teammates during a game between his Yorkshire side and Nottinghamshire in 2009.

The 47-year-old denies the allegations, insisting: "I have nothing to hide.

"The 'you lot' comment never happened. 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.

"It is difficult to comment on that except to say it hurts me hugely to think I potentially affected someone. I take it as the most serious allegation ever put in front of me and I will fight to the end to prove I am not that person."

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^{Michael Vaughan will not host the Tuffers & Vaughan Show next week}

Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, one of the three other Yorkshire players of Asian descent involved in the incident reported by Rafiq, corroborated the story.

"He's [Vaughan] given a statement against Azeem Rafiq and I want to tell you the true story because we were playing in 2009 at Nottinghamshire and I was part of that team," said the former bowler," Rana told ITV News from Pakistan.

"Mr Vaughan used that words 'there is too many of you, we need to do something about it'.

"At that time I wasn't realising he was speaking about us. But lots of people said that to me."

The BBC stressed that the decision to pull Vaughan from Monday's show was editorial, and related to his involvement in the most pressing issue in the sport.

In a statement, the broadcaster said Vaughan's appearances on its stations remains under review.

"The BBC takes any allegations of racism extremely seriously,” the statement read.

“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. The show focuses on topical discussion around current cricketing matters and given his personal involvement, we need to ensure we maintain the impartiality of the programme. We remain in discussion with Michael and his team."

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