Ex-Yorkshire players fined in cricket racism case

LONDON: Six former Yorkshire players found guilty of using racist language in the Azeem Rafiq case have been fined by the Cricket Discipline Commission.

Pakistan-born bowler Rafiq, 32, went public with allegations of racism and bullying in September 2020, related to his two spells at the English county.
Ex-England batter Gary Ballance admitted charges levied against him.But former Ashes winners Matthew Hoggard and Tim Bresnan joined Andrew Gale, John Blain and Richard Pyrah in withdrawing from proceedings in protest.

In their absence a Commission panel upheld charges against the five players. None of the six men sanctioned on Friday are currently active in professional cricket.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan was cleared of using racist language “on the balance of probabilities” after opting to defend himself at the hearing in March.

The sanction hearing for Yorkshire, who have separately admitted four breaches, will be held next month.