A hearing into the racism scandal at Yorkshire county cricket club startedon Wednesday with former England international Tim Bresnan accused ofmaking a racist comment towards the sister of Azeem Rafiq.
It is more than two years since Rafiq alleged he was subjected to racistabuse while playing for English county Yorkshire.
During Wednesday’s proceedings of an independent Cricket DisciplineCommission in London, it was alleged Bresnan, an ex-Yorkshire all-rounder,used a racial slur against Rafiq’s sister Amna in 2014.
Jane Mulcahy KC, the lawyer for the England and Wales Cricket Board, saidBresnan is alleged to have directed the term “fit Paki” and “FP” towardsAsian women, including Rafiq’s sister Amna at a Yorkshire media day.
He was also alleged to have referred to Rafiq and Asian team-mates AdilRashid, Ajmal Shahzad and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan as “the brothers” and “youlot”.
In a previous statement, Bresnan has denied the allegations, having claimedthe term “brothers” was used but not in a discriminatory or racial way.
The 38-year-old, capped 23 times at Test level by England, also insisted hehad no recollection of using the phrase “you lot” in a match againstDerbyshire and claimed to have never met Amna Rafiq.
Bresnan is one of several former Yorkshire players and coaches, includingAndrew Gale, Matthew Hoggard, Richard Pyrah and John Blain, who haverefused to engage with the Discipline Commission process.
But the CDC panel will still hear the charges against them in their absence.
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Hoggard and Blain, like Bresnan, have denied a charge of bringing the gameinto disrepute and allegations of using racial or discriminatory language.
However, Mulcahy said it was “more likely than not” each of the trio usedthe racist phrases alleged.
Gary Ballance, also charged, has already admitted using raciallydiscriminatory language and will not appear.
Ballance, a former England Test player, is now playing for the country ofhis birth, Zimbabwe.
Yorkshire confirmed last week that documents relating to racism allegationsagainst the club were deleted under the previous regime.
Pakistan-born Rafiq, 32, first raised allegations of racism and bullying inSeptember 2020, related to the spin bowler’s two spells at Yorkshire.
He told a British parliamentary committee in December 2022 the abuse he andhis family had faced had forced him to leave the UK. APP/AFP
