Yorkshire CCC racism scandal: Michael Vaughan cleared of making racist comment after nightmare ordeal

The man who masterminded one of English sport’s most iconic triumphs admitted that his nightmare ordeal of the past 27 months had placed a huge strain on himself and his family.

“At times, this process has brought me to the brink of falling out of love with cricket,” said Vaughan, who was accused by Azeem Rafiq, his former Yorkshire team-mate, of saying, “There are too many of you lot, we need to have a word about it”, to Rafiq and fellow Asian players Adil Rashid, Ajmal Shahzad and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan before a county game in 2009.

Vaughan, 48, was cleared by a three-strong panel of the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC), which delivered its various verdicts after the public hearings of early March.

His case is the only time during the entire two-and-a-half year saga that Rafiq’s evidence has been tested under cross-examination, with the CDC upholding some or all of the charges against each of the other defendants (John Blain, Tim Bresnan, Andrew Gale, Matthew Hoggard and Richard Pyrah), none of whom took part after citing concerns over the integrity of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) investigation.

Each was found guilty of using racist language despite only Hoggard admitting – in qualified terms – the charges against him (Gary Ballance and Yorkshire had already conceded liability) and they were given 14 days to appeal pending sanction hearings in late April/May.

Blain, who recently spoke movingly of having had suicidal thoughts at what he termed “a huge miscarriage of justice”, was the first to signal his intent to “fight this by whatever means are available”, with Bresnan reportedly of similar mind.

Rafiq offered no comment on the decision to acquit Vaughan after the CDC cited “significant inconsistencies” in Rafiq’s evidence and that of Adil Rashid, the Yorkshire and England leg-spinner, issuing only this statement: “Charges against seven of the eight defendants, including the widespread use of the ‘P’ word, have been upheld by the CDC today. This comes in addition to the other reports, panels and inquiries that found I and others suffered racial harassment and bullying while at Yorkshire.

“The issue has never been about individuals but the game as a whole. Cricket needs to understand the extent of its problems and address them.

"Hopefully, the structures of the game can now be rebuilt and institutionalised racism ended for good. It’s time to reflect, learn and implement change.”

Vaughan, who received significant support from Shahzad in respect of the alleged “you lot” remark, which Shahzad said he never heard, issued a dignified, some would say generous statement.

Its opening sentence sought to empathise with Rafiq - “It has been both difficult and upsetting to hear about the painful experiences which Azeem has described over the past three years” - before insisting that “the outcome of these CDC proceedings must not be allowed to detract from the core message that there can be no place for racism in the game of cricket, or in society generally”.

Vaughan criticised the disciplinary procedure – for the CDC to determine on such a momentous issue in the round was “an inappropriate, inadequate and backwards step” – but thanked the panel of chair Tim O’Gorman, Dr Seema Patel and Mark Milliken-Smith KC for its “careful attention in very difficult circumstances”.

Vaughan said it had been “an incredibly difficult period in my life” and “there are no winners”.

He went on: “At times, this process has brought me to the brink of falling out of love with cricket. I won’t address here the toll that it has taken on me and my family, but I have no doubt that it has also been incredibly stressful for all of the others concerned. I hope that for them and for cricket, an inclusive healing process can now begin.”

Vaughan’s comments in that respect were echoed by Richard Thompson, the ECB chair, who said: “This has been an incredibly challenging period for our sport, but one we must all learn from in order to make cricket better and more inclusive. When Azeem Rafiq spoke out about his time in cricket, he exposed a side of our game which no one should have to experience. We are grateful for his courage and perseverance.

“Given the nature of these cases, they have taken a clear toll on everyone involved. There now needs to be a time of reconciliation where, as a game, we can collectively learn and heal the wounds and ensure that nothing like this can ever happen again."

In a statement, Yorkshire said that it was not their place to comment on the panel’s “wider judgements”. However, they stated: “As a club, we needed to accept and take accountability for the cultural issues which allowed racist and discriminatory behaviour to go unchallenged.”