Michael Vaughan stood down from BBC radio show after Azeem Rafiq racism allegations

The
47-year-old
revealed
on
Thursday
he
has
been
named
in
a
100-page
report
looking
into
claims
of
institutional
racism
at
Yorkshire
made
by
Rafiq.

Vaughan,
who
played
for
Yorkshire
from
1993
to
2009
and
led
England
to
Ashes
glory
in
2005,
allegedly
said
to
a
group
of
Asian
team-mates
there
were
“too
many
of
you
lot,
we
need
to
do
something
about
it”.

Michael
Vaughan
‘gobsmacked’,
denies
racism
allegations
levelled
against
him

Rafiq’s
version
of
events
has
been
supported
by
fellow
former
Yorkshire
player
Rana
Naved-ul-Hassan.

Vaughan
strongly
denies
the
allegations,
but
the
BBC
has
confirmed
he
will
not
appear
on
Monday’s
edition
of
the
‘Tuffers
and
Vaughan’ show
on
5
Live
alongside
Phil
Tufnell.

Rana
Naved-ul-Hasan
confirms
Rafiq
allegation:
‘Vaughan
used
racist
slur
against
Asians’

“The
BBC
takes
any
allegations
of
racism
extremely
seriously,”
a
spokesperson
said
on
Friday.

“We
have
made
the
editorial
decision
that
Michael
won’t
appear
as
a
presenter
on
5
Live’s
Tuffers
and
Vaughan
Show
on
Monday.

Yorkshire
chairman
Roger
Hutton
resigns
over
Azeem
Rafiq
racism
case

“The
show
focuses
on
topical
discussion
around
current
cricketing
matters.
Given
his
personal
involvement,
we
need
to
ensure
we
maintain
the
impartiality
of
the
programme.

“We
remain
in
discussion
with
Michael
and
his
team.”

ECB
suspends
Yorkshire
from
hosting
international
matches
over
handling
of
Rafiq
racism
case

Writing
for
The
Telegraph
on
Thursday,
Vaughan
said:
“The
allegation
came
completely
out
of
the
blue
and
more
than
a
decade
after
it
was
alleged
to
have
happened
made
it
all
the
more
difficult
to
process.

“I
completely
and
categorically
deny
that
I
ever
said
those
words.

“I
responded
to
the
panel
by
saying
I
was
gobsmacked
and
that
my
professional
legal
advice
was
that
I
could
not
appear
before
a
panel
having
had
just
a
few
hours’ notice
of
such
serious
claims
made
against
me.”

The
England
and
Wales
Cricket
Board
(ECB)
on
Thursday
suspended
Yorkshire
from
hosting
international
and
major
matches
in
response
to
the
club’s
“wholly
unacceptable”
handling
of
Rafiq’s
racism
allegations
of
institutional
racism
at
the
club.

Roger
Hutton
subsequently
resigned
as
Yorkshire
chairman
on
Friday,
stating
the
club
should
have
recognised
at
the
time
the
serious
allegations.

Gary
Ballance
has
also
been
indefinitely
suspended
from
international
selection
after
the
ex-England
batsman
admitted
he
was
responsible
for
some
of
the
offensive
and
inappropriate
language
Rafiq
was
subjected
to.

Rafiq
and
Hutton
are
due
to
appear
in
front
of
the
Department
for
Culture,
Media
and
Sport’s
select
committee
to
give
evidence
on
November
16.

Publishing
company
Emerald
and
kit
manufacturers
Nike
are
among
the
sponsors
Yorkshire
have
lost
due
to
their
handling
of
the
Rafiq
case.