Former England captain Michael Vaughan Will defend himself against racism allegations at Cricket Disciplinary Commission hearing Azeem Rafik case on Thursday.
Vaughan and his old friend Yorkshire players Matthew HoggardTim Bresnan, John Blain, Andrew Gale and Richard Pyrah are facing charges for using discriminatory language.
Rafiq, 32, first spoke about his experience of racial harassment and bullying during two spells in the county in 2020.
The England and Wales Cricket Board filed charges against seven people and Yorkshire in June last year, and Rafiq was able to take the case publicly by an independent board.
Vaughan allegedly told a group of Asian players that “there are too many of you, we need to do something about it”. The 48-year-old denies the accusation.
another player, Gary Ballancehas already admitted to an accusation of using racially discriminatory language. Yorkshire also pleaded guilty to four charges.
Hoggard, Bresnan, Blain, Gale and Pyrah chose not to attend the hearing, which CDC chairman Tim O’Gorman said was “sad.” Vaughan is the only participant group to be there in person.
The ECB determined the cases against Hoggard, Bresnan and Blain on Wednesday.
ECB lawyer Jane Mulcahy KC said “systematic use of racist or discriminatory language in Yorkshire during the relevant period” was “more likely than not” to use racist language by all three.
Mulcahy said that Hoggard and Ballance’s admission of using the term ‘P***’ to refer to Asian players “raises the possibility of using other words or phrases that have a racist or discriminatory meaning”.
Hoggard acknowledged using the term, but dismissed any racist or discriminatory intent. and ‘P***s’.
Rafiq attended the hearing, but was not called to speak due to the absence of attendees. The panel said there was no need to question the former bowler because of the “stack” of evidence that had already accumulated.
The ECB will file their case against Gale and Pyrah in the morning before moving on to Vaughan.