Yorkshire cricket star who called Azeem Rafiq a ‘P***’ ‘understood to be Gary Ballance’

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Former England cricket star Gary Ballance tonight admitted calling his ex-Yorkshire team-mate and ‘best mate’ Azeem Rafiq a ‘P**i’.

Ballance, who played 23 Tests and 16 one-day internationals between 2013-2017, released a long and emotional statement on Wednesday, just hours after MailOnline revealed he was the player at the heart of the race scandal. 

The batsman accepted he was responsible for some of the offensive and derogatory terms that Rafiq revealed he was subjected to during his time at Headingley.

This is said to have included telling other people ‘don’t talk to him (Rafiq), he’s a P**i, asking ‘is that your uncle?’ when bearded Asian men were in view and saying in reference to corner shops: ‘Does your Dad own those?’. 

The 31-year-old attempted to offer some context of his ‘incredibly close relationship’ with Rafiq during their time together at the club, claiming both men ‘said things privately to each other which were not acceptable’ but made it clear he had remorse for his part of those exchanges.

However, Rafiq responded on Twitter tonight by saying: ‘Funny how things change from complete denial to I accepted everything over a 14 month period ??’

In his statement, Ballance wrote: ‘It has been reported that I used a racial slur and, as I told the independent enquiry, I accept that I did so and I regret doing so. To be clear – I deeply regret some of the language I used in my younger years.

‘I do not wish to discredit Rafa by repeating the words and statements that he made about me and others but I have to be clear that this was a situation where best friends said offensive things to each other which, outside of that context, would be considered wholly inappropriate.

‘I regret that these exchanges took place but at no time did I believe or understand that it had caused Rafa distress. If I had believed that then I would have stopped immediately. 

‘He was my best mate in cricket and I cared deeply for him. To my knowledge, it has never been alleged that I reduced Rafa to tears.’  

Yorkshire Cricket Club has today been urged to sack him amid the claims that he repeatedly abused Mr Rafiq. 

A number of sponsors including Yorkshire Tea and Anchor butter walked away from the club, while others such as Emerald Publishing demanded answers.

But last year’s inquiry into Azeem Rafiq’s accusations of alleged institutional racism at Yorkshire cleared a player they declined to name after concluding that regular use of the term ‘P**i’ came during ‘banter’ between the pair.  

After the story emerged last week, Yorkshire then reiterated that no disciplinary action would be taken by them in the wake of Rafiq’s allegations. 

It is reported that the panel found Rafiq’s reference to the former team-mate who is understood to be Mr Ballance, who is of Zimbabwean heritage, as ‘Zimbo from Zimbabwe’ as a ‘racist, derogatory term’.

The report said that if Rafiq were still at Yorkshire, he would have faced disciplinary action. 

According to ESPNcricinfo, Yorkshire’s report — passed to the ECB for further investigation but never released — cleared Mr Ballance of wrongdoing as it was perceived the comments were made in a friendly, good-natured manner. 

The investigating panel did not accept that the ex-England Under 19 captain was offended by the other player’s comments, either at the time or at a later date, even though he was seen crying.

They said in the context of ‘banter between friends’, Rafiq might be ‘expected to take such comments in the spirit in which they were intended’.  

‘The club carried out its own internal investigation which shows there is no conduct or action taken by any current employees, players or executives that warrants disciplinary action,’ read a club statement. 

‘We do, however, acknowledge we must work hard to restore trust from those who feel let down.

‘There is much the club can learn from the independent report and we are committed to incorporating the panel’s recommendations into our diversity and inclusion plans.’ 

Mr Rafiq accused allies of the Yorkshire Cricket Club of mounting a smear campaign against him as sponsors began to desert the club. 

The former England under-19 captain also slammed ‘silence’ from the British Asian and Pakistani communites he believes should be supporting him and declared: ‘Even now people trying to discredit me behind the scenes’. 

Mr Rafiq has demanded Yorkshire breaks their silence and release the name of his former team-mate’ in an uncensored version of their investigation into his allegations of racism and bullying when he played for the team.  

He tweeted: ‘Even now people [are] trying to discredit me behind the scenes. Guess what they are from my community. It hurts every day!! I will not be scared of any legal actions or things you say about me. You have all tried to END me. Still here & fighting’.

He added: ‘When investigating racism, the process needs transparency, not only so people know what happened, but so we can learn from it’.

The former England under-19 captain is to be given the chance to name the Yorkshire Cricket Club teammate who repeatedly called him a ‘P*ki’ as sponsors threatened to leave the club over its ‘repellent and disturbing’ handling of the race row, it was revealed today.

MPs from the the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee have invited Mr Rafiq to give evidence in a Westminster showdown with his former bosses on November 16 where he will be able to use Parliamentary Privilege to identify his former team-mate. 

Britain’s most successful county team is also under increasing political pressure after MPs also summoned chairman Roger Hutton, who is facing calls to resign, to the DCMS hearing with Mr Rafiq. Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, is also expected to give testimony. 

The former England U19 and Yorkshire captain is suing Yorkshire CCC for damages under the Equal Equality Act after reportedly turning down £100,000 from the club if he signed a non-disclosure agreement. The club has said it has offered him a ‘full apology’ but insists no employees of the club will face any further action.

Today Yorkshire’s sponsor Anchor butter, owned by dairy giant Arla, walked away from the club with Tetley’s brewery and Emerald Publishing demanding answers following the revelation that the club took no disciplinary action against a current player who regularly called Rafiq a ‘P***’, according to the independent report commissioned by the county into the former spinner’s racism allegations.   

The abuse took place before he left in 2018, but Mr Rafiq went public in September 2020 and said he was suicidal after Yorkshire CC refused to release the full report they had commissioned into his claims that he was ‘the victim of racial harassment’ and ‘bullying’ during his eight years at the club. 

Last week the report was leaked to ESPNcricinfo who reported on Yorkshire’s decision to brand the ‘P*ki’ comments as ‘banter’ and not discipline the cricketer who used it.

DCMS committee chairman Julian Knight said: ‘Why has anyone who ever used the ‘p word’ still in their job?’, adding: ‘Given the endemic racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, I struggle to think of any reason why that the board should remain in post. This is one of the most repellent and disturbing episodes in modern cricket history’. 

Yesterday Health Secretary Sajid Javid called for the board to resign yesterday as he tweeted: ‘P*** is not banter. Heads should roll at Yorkshire CCC. If (the) ECB doesn’t take action it’s not fit for purpose.’ Boris Johnson‘s spokesman then urged the England and Wales Cricket Board to ‘investigate this thoroughly and quickly’ and ‘take action where needed’.

Today Sportsmail can reveal that Yorkshire has already lost one of their main commercial partners and several other sponsors are demanding answers.

A spokesman for Arla Foods, the Danish food company who produce Anchor, said that their butter brand will not renew their sponsorship of the county’s 50-over team, while Tetley’s brewery and Emerald Publishing are also talking to Yorkshire about their ongoing involvement.

Anchor’s decision to walk away will increase the pressure on Yorkshire’s other sponsors to act following the revelation by ESPNcricinfo that the club took no disciplinary action against a current player who regularly called Rafiq a ‘P***’ according to the independent report commissioned by the county into the former spinner’s racism allegations. 

Emerald have been the title sponsors of Headingley since 2017, while the support of Leeds-based brewery Tetley’s goes back decades.

‘We are dismayed by the conclusion of an independent panel that the former player, Azeem Rafiq, suffered racial harassment and bullying during his time at the club,’ read an Emerald statement.

Yorkshire Tea has also walked away from the club, saying in a statement: ‘We were upset to read about the experiences of Azeem Rafiq during his time at Yorkshire County Cricket Club. 

‘We wholeheartedly believe that cricket should be a sport for everyone, but his experiences and the way the panel report has been handled don’t reflect that.

‘Our current partnership with YCCC was naturally coming to an end but we have taken the decision to end it with immediate effect.’ 

Yorkshire’s handling of the case has horrified Britain with bosses accused of trying to sweep racism under the carpet.

Of last Thursday’s announcement that no action would follow, a spokesperson for Rafiq said: ‘This is despite Yorkshire’s admission that Azeem was the victim of racial harassment and bullying, and despite their admission they failed to follow their own policy and investigate allegations of racism as recently as 2018.

‘It is inconceivable that there are no current employees who should not have been disciplined. It is time that board members — for once — did the decent thing and resigned.’

The redacted report, released on September 10, recorded that ‘the panel did not find Rafiq’s evidence wholly credible. Rafiq and the player engaged in friendly verbal attack towards each other, and no malice was intended by either to the other’.

Rafiq’s disturbing account of his time at the club first came to light more than a year ago but recent developments commanded the attention of senior Westminster figures on Tuesday, with Javid’s strongly-worded intervention following the news that Yorkshire chairman Roger Hutton will be called to face the parliamentary Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee.

An independent report commissioned by Yorkshire previously resolved that Rafiq, who played for his home county in two stints between 2008 and 2018, had been a victim of ‘racial harassment and bullying’. Despite offering an apology, the club went on to state that none of its employees would face any further action.

ESPNcricinfo this week published alleged details of the report, including a senior player’s admission that he had repeatedly used the word ‘P***’ in reference to Rafiq, which was subsequently deemed to be ‘in the spirit of friendly banter’.

Javid, the first British Pakistani to head a government department in 2014, posted on Twitter: ‘P***’ is not banter. Heads should roll at Yorkshire CCC. If @ECB-cricket doesn’t take action it’s not fit for purpose.’

The closing words amount to a challenge directly aimed at the game’s governing body, which has only recently received a full copy of the Rafiq report as part of its own ‘thorough and fair’ investigation.

A No 10 spokesperson, responding to Javid’s comments, said: ‘These are very serious allegations which have clearly had a very significant impact on Azeem Rafiq and it’s important they are investigated thoroughly and quickly.

‘We urge them to look at this with the utmost scrutiny and take action where needed. Language like that should never be used in any context or form whatsoever.’

Asked whether the word ‘P***’ could ever be used as ‘banter’, the spokesman added: ‘No, this is racist language and should not be used in any context whatsoever.’

In a statement, the ECB apologised for the matter not being resolved and acknowledged the effect of that on the wellbeing on Rafiq and his family.

The ECB said: ‘We will conduct a full regulatory process that is fair to all parties, but also ensure this happens as quickly as possible.

‘To achieve this, we have secured the services of a QC, along with other external investigatory support to upweight resource around our process. The ECB board has also reaffirmed its commitment to further additional resource, should the investigation require it.’

Looking ahead, Hutton will now be preparing to provide evidence to the DCMS select committee – a session which could yield hitherto unpublished revelations as it will be covered by parliamentary privilege.

DCMS committee chair Julian Knight demanded the resignation of members of Yorkshire’s board over what he described as the ‘endemic racism’ at the club. 

He said: ‘We want to see much greater transparency from YCCC – it is time for them to answer their critics. We intend to call the Chair of the club before the DCMS Committee to give a much fuller explanation than we have had so far.’

Nadine Dorries, secretary of state for DCMS, added her own thoughts on Twitter, posting: ‘Azeem Rafiq’s treatment after the racism he faced was disgusting, and the investigation that followed only makes it even worse. The @ECB-cricket investigation must be swift and fully transparent. Racism must be confronted, and NEVER written off as just ‘banter’.’

Yorkshire have been contacted for comment by PA, while the man at the centre of the issue, Rafiq, tweeted his own response in the evening.

‘Over the last 14 months I have told both @PCA and @ECB-cricket that someone needs to show leadership & take this out of @YorkshireCCC hands. No-one believed me, no-one listened everyone tried to protect themselves and left me all alone to fight. TIME FOR THE FULL TRUTH,’ he wrote.

The Professional Cricketers’ Association told the PA news agency: ‘The PCA continues to discuss this extremely important issue with stakeholders and is supportive of the ECB’s regulative process now the governing body has received the full report.’

The developments in Rafiq’s case have also attracted the attention of anti-racism campaign group HOPE Not Hate, with its chief executive Nick Lowles telling PA: ‘In 2021, we have a right to expect racism and intolerance to be taken seriously. We cannot sit idly by while institutions try to brush these problems under the carpet – we all have a part to play in refusing to accept racial intolerance and taking a stand against organisations who fail to tackle racism.

‘Azeem Rafiq deserves justice. Cricket, like any sport, unites people across many backgrounds – but when institutions fail to safeguard and protect players from abuse, the premise of unity falls apart.’

Yorkshire are also feeling the pinch commercially. Anchor, sponsor of the county’s Royal London Cup kit last season, announced it was ending its support, with a tweet reading: ‘There is never a place or an excuse for racism. We have no further activity supporting YCCC.’

The Emerald publishing group – a primary sponsor of the county, which has naming rights at Headingley Stadium – has described its ‘dismay’ at recent reports and expects further action to be taken.

A statement to PA read: ‘We take all matters related to any form of racism or discriminatory behaviour seriously and expect all our partners to uphold our values.

‘As sponsors of the Headingley stadium, we are dismayed by the conclusion of an independent panel that the former player, Azeem Rafiq, suffered racial harassment and bullying during his time at the club.

‘Whilst the club has offered its unreserved apology for this, and has made a number of positive changes in the intervening years, there is clearly still a great deal more to do.’