Yorkshire CCC refer Jafer Chohan case to Cricket Regulator after controversial pro-Palestine posts
YORKSHIRE have referred their leg-spinner Jafer Chohan to the independent Cricket Regulator after the player posted pro-Palestine images on social media.
The club has asked the regulator - set up in 2023 in the wake of the ICEC report into racism and discrimination in the game - to take on the case after it received complaints from a number of Jewish members.
Chohan, 23, posted images of himself at a pro-Palestine march and of controversial slogans such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. He had previously been warned by the club regarding his support of certain organisations and commenting publicly on sensitive subjects.
Yorkshire decided to hand over the matter following a board meeting. The club was made aware of Chohan’s actions at the weekend, when there were almost 1,000 arrests in London at a demonstration against the ban on the group Palestine Action, a proscribed group under the Terrorism Act.
Chohan, who has toured with the full England squad and also England Lions, has continued to play for Yorkshire this week, representing the second XI at Taunton Vale just down the road from where the first team were in action against Somerset in the County Championship. He bowled only four overs in a rain-affected game and scored 24 runs.
When a case is brought before the Cricket Regulator, it conducts an investigation before deciding whether there is sufficient evidence to put the matter to the Cricket Discipline Panel (CDP). The panel has various powers including fines, suspensions and even the termination of player registrations.
Yorkshire fell foul of the CDP when they were fined £1,000 and handed a suspended four-point deduction in the One-Day Cup for breaching mobile phone and accreditation protocol during last month’s match at Northamptonshire. The points deduction will be activated should there be a further breach of Player & Match Officials Area (PMOA) regulations in the next two years.