DCMS urge Yorkshire CCC to "immediately" publish report into racism allegations

The Chair of the government's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee, Julian Knight MP, has urged Yorkshire to publish their report into allegations of racism at the club made by former player Azeem Rafiq.

Last year, Rafiq spoke publicly about the alleged racism he experienced during his time at the club in a series of interviews and revealed that his experiences left him on the brink of "committing suicide".

Following Rafiq's comments, Yorkshire launched an investigation into the claims and they received a copy of the report last month.

Yorkshire then issued a statement where they admitted that "several of the allegations made by Azeem were upheld".

The statement went on to say that Rafiq was "the victim of inappropriate behaviour", with Yorkshire stopping short of admitting that he had suffered racist abuse.

The club also issued a "profound" apology and said they were "in the process of reviewing the findings" and "aim to publish as much of the report and recommendations as we are able".

They said: "It is inevitable that there is much to digest and we shall have to take advice on the contents of the report.

"We are mindful that in a process of this nature we have a duty of care to all who participated, and we must not breach that duty.

"We aim to publish as much of the report and recommendations as we are able, subject to any legal restraints on doing so, in the coming weeks."

However, it has now been three weeks since Yorkshire issued that statement and MPs on the DCMS committee are calling for the "immediate" publication of the report.

Knight said: "We are very surprised that this report has not been published by Yorkshire County Cricket Club, given the seriousness of the allegations of racism which span more than a decade and the fact that it has taken almost three years to reach this point.

"Given that YCCC said in its statement that several allegations made against the club had been upheld, and that Azeem Rafiq had been a victim of inappropriate behaviour, it is crucial that the process, the report and its full findings are made public and open to scrutiny. He deserves no less."

In a letter sent to Yorkshire's chief executive Mark Arthur, Knight added: "The committee calls on you to publish the full report, including all of the recommendations, immediately."

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