The courage of Azeem Rafiq should inspire a real revolution in cricket-Lord Kamlesh Patel

According to the new chairman, Lord Camresh Patel, Achim Rafik’s anti-racism stance in Yorkshire must “initiate a real change”.

Lord Patel provided evidence to the Government Commission on Digital, Culture, Media and Sports in Westminster on Tuesday, as well as strong testimony from Rafik.

The New York County chairperson later praised Rafik’s position in challenging the county’s discrimination, and made public the stark examples of what he claimed constituted institutional racism.

Lord Patel said: “The emotions expressed by Azim Rafik’s convincing testimony to the Select Committee today are obvious, and his experience is painful and frustrating.”

“Azem’s courage to speak up should be commended, and no one should underestimate the difficulty of revisiting all this in public.

“He hopes to bring voice to the silent, this should be the inspiration for real change in the sport.

“I apologize to Azem again, because everything he has experienced should not happen, this is what the club must admit.

“Since I joined this club, it has become increasingly clear that the investigation of Azim’s allegations is fundamentally flawed and unacceptable. The procedures and follow-up actions taken by the club have been properly criticized.

“There is no quick solution to the clear problems that have been identified, and the problems are complex, especially the allegations of institutional racism must be addressed head-on.

“Azem pointed out that this has nothing to do with the individual, but with the structure and process of the club. We need to solve this problem. Obviously, we have excellent talents in the Yorkshire Cricket Club, which gives me hope.

“I am shocked by the concept and meaning of the’White Rose’ values: I want to say firmly that our values ​​in this club cannot be rooted in racism, discrimination or any form of abuse in any way.”

Rafik had two spells in Yorkshire from 2008 to 2018, and revealed a long-term catalog of alleged racism and discrimination incidents during his time in the county.

The 30-year-old also revealed how players from Leicestershire, Middlesex and Nottinghamshire contacted him and told about their experiences of racist abuse in cricket.

The advocacy organization “Hope rather than hatred” supports Rafik’s testimony that racism extends across Yorkshire.

The organization’s chief executive Nick Lowes said: “It’s heartbreaking to watch Azim Rafik talk about the racism he experienced.

“When racism is not taken seriously, or seen as a’good joke,’ it has real consequences. People get hurt.

“But the most disturbing thing is that what Azeem Rafiq has experienced is not an isolated incident, whether in cricket or in more general sports.

“Over the years, we have heard countless reports about people suffering from racial discrimination in sports. Although many campaigns have been carried out to solve the problem positively, the same problems have appeared time and time again.

“We must stand together now and say’enough is enough.’

“Azim Rafik’s brave opposition to those who abuse him needs to be a turning point-it is an opportunity to stand with Azim and to exclude racism from sports once and for all.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson then wrote on Twitter: “Brave testimony from Azim Rafic.

“I commend him for speaking out. There are no excuses for racism anywhere in society, and we hope that @EnglandCricket and @YorkshireCCC will take immediate action to respond to these allegations.”