David Lloyd responds to Azeem Rafiq over racism allegation

David Lloyd has apologised to Azeem Rafiq after being named in the former Yorkshire cricketer’s ongoing racism scandal.

A report found that Rafiq was the victim of ‘racial harassment and bullying’ during his time at the club, while England international Gary Ballance has since admitted to using a racial slur.

In an emotional appearance in front of a parliamentary select committee on Thursday, Rafiq, while expanding on the racism he had experienced, questioned inappropriate comments made by ex-England coach Lloyd, who is now plying his trade as a television commentator.

‘I sat in front of national TV and talked about the dark places this whole episode has got me into and what’s happened since then? Denial, briefings, cover-ups, smearing,’ Rafiq said.

‘High-profile media people messaging other members of the media who supported me saying stuff like, ‘The club houses are the life blood of a club and Asian players don’t go in there’, ‘Getting subs out of Asian players is like getting blood out of stone’.’

‘And then personally this guy doesn’t even know me, has never spent any time with me, is talking about my personal drinking, going out and socialising.

‘That was David Lloyd, he’s been an England coach, commentator, and I found it disturbing because Sky are supposedly doing this amazing work on bringing racism to the front and within a week of me speaking out that’s what I got sent to me. And I thought, ‘Gosh, there’s some closet racists and we need to do something about it’.’

In a post on social media responding to the claims, Lloyd said: ‘In October 2020, I had a private message exchange with a third party involved in cricket, about a number of topics.

‘In these messages, I referred to allegations about Azeem Rafiq which I had heard from within the game.

‘I also made some comments about the Asian cricket community.

‘I deeply regret my actions, and I apologise most sincerely to Azeem and to the Asian cricket community for doing this, and for any offence caused.

‘I am strongly committed to making cricket a more inclusive sport.

‘It is very obvious now that more work needs to be done and I will do everything I can to remove discrimination from the sport I love, and the sport that has been my life for over 50 years.’

In a separate statement, Lloyd’s employers Sky confirmed that they would investigate the claims.

‘Sky is committed to actively championing inclusion in cricket – and in all sports – and opposing all forms of discrimination. We will be investigating the comments attributed to David Lloyd in today’s select committee hearing,’ the company said.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news onFacebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Source: Read Full Article