Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

Azeem Rafiq left ‘incredibly proud’ of former Scotland cricketers Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh<!-- wp:html --><div></div> <div> <h2>Azeem Rafiq left ‘incredibly proud’ of former Scottish cricketers Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh after their decision to speak out about the racist abuse they have suffered in their international career sparked an explosive report</h2> <p>Azeem Rafiq praised ex-Scottish cricketers Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh<br /> <strong>Haq and Sheikh spoke out about racist abuse they suffered as international players </strong><br /> <strong>448 examples of institutional racism included in Cricket Scotland review </strong></p> <p class="author-section byline-plain">By George Grant for The Scottish Daily Mail </p> <p class="byline-section"><span class="article-timestamp article-timestamp-published"> <span class="article-timestamp-label">Published:</span> 00:06, 26 July 2022 </span> | <span class="article-timestamp article-timestamp-updated"> <span class="article-timestamp-label">Updated:</span> 00:06, 26 July 2022 </span> </p> <p> <!-- ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/gb/sport/sportsnews/article/other/para_top.html --> <!-- CWV --><!--[if !IE]>>--> <!-- <!--[if IE]>--></p> <p> <!--[if !IE]>>--> <!--<!--[if IE]>--></p> <p> <!--[if !IE]>>--> <!-- <!--[if IE 8]>--></p> <p> <!--[if IE 9]>--></p> <p> <!--[if IE]>--></p> <p> <!--[if !IE]> --> <!--</p> <p> <!-- SiteCatalyst code version: H.20.3. Copyright 1997-2009 Omniture, Inc. More info available at http://www.omniture.com --> </p> <p> <!-- End SiteCatalyst code version: H.20.3. --> <!--[if IE]>--></p> <p> <!--[if !IE]> --> <!--<!--[if IE]>--></p> <p> <!--[if !IE]> --> </p> <p> <!-- <!-- CWV --></p> <div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Yorkshire whistleblower Azeem Rafiq has praised former Scottish cricketers Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh for speaking out about the racist abuse they suffered during their international careers.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Scottish sport was rocked on Monday by the sheer scale of the ‘institutional racism’ exposed in an independent review by Cricket Scotland.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The findings found a dazzling 448 instances of institutional racism that were recorded.</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Yorkshire whistleblower Azeem Rafiq praised former Scottish cricketers Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The sport’s governing body failed on 29 of the 31 indicators of institutional racism outlined by Plan4Sport, which conducted the assessment.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">In addition, 31 accusations of racism were leveled against 15 different people, two clubs and one regional association. Some cases have been referred to Police Scotland.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Rafiq made his own allegations of institutional racism to the Yorkshire County Cricket Club after revealing in 2020 that he was suicidal due to the repeated racism he was exposed to while involved in cricket.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">“Since I spoke out, I have a good relationship with Majid and Qasim,” Rafiq told Sky Sports. “I’m just incredibly proud of them and everyone else who played a part in the review.</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="splitLeft"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="splitRight"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Majid Haq (left) and Qasim Sheikh (right) have alleged racism against Cricket Scotland</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">“I hope they have given a sense of closure today and that they have been fully vindicated.”</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">He added: ‘Today is a start. The only thing I’d be a little wary of is that we’re not looking too far into the future right now.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">“It’s very important to stay in the problem. There are many people who have faced abuse for years. There has to be an effort to rebuild those bridges, talk to them, re-engage them, apologize. Once that’s done, and only then, it’s important to look to the future — and how we’re doing it.</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">An explosive report on racism in Scottish cricket has revealed alarming details of institutional racism</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">“As I’ve seen in the last nine months, there are a lot of words, a lot of boxes checked and a lot of attempts to show that things are happening, but really, deep down, things don’t change.”</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">But Rafiq doesn’t think Cricket Scotland’s funding should be cut at this stage, saying: ‘If there’s an acceptance and an apology, then they need to be supported to make sure the change comes – and comes faster.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">“If things don’t change and if there’s resistance to change, then I think at that point sportscotland needs to come a lot harder.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">“But I think at this stage it’s really important that we support the game to get the change we all want.”</p> </div> <p> <!-- ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/gb/sport/sportsnews/article/other/inread_player.html --></p> <div class="column-content cleared"> <div class="shareArticles"> <h3 class="social-links-title">Share or comment on this article: </h3> </div> </div> </div><!-- /wp:html -->

Azeem Rafiq left ‘incredibly proud’ of former Scottish cricketers Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh after their decision to speak out about the racist abuse they have suffered in their international career sparked an explosive report

Azeem Rafiq praised ex-Scottish cricketers Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh
Haq and Sheikh spoke out about racist abuse they suffered as international players
448 examples of institutional racism included in Cricket Scotland review

<!–

<!–

<!–

<!–

<!–

<!–

Yorkshire whistleblower Azeem Rafiq has praised former Scottish cricketers Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh for speaking out about the racist abuse they suffered during their international careers.

Scottish sport was rocked on Monday by the sheer scale of the ‘institutional racism’ exposed in an independent review by Cricket Scotland.

The findings found a dazzling 448 instances of institutional racism that were recorded.

Yorkshire whistleblower Azeem Rafiq praised former Scottish cricketers Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh

The sport’s governing body failed on 29 of the 31 indicators of institutional racism outlined by Plan4Sport, which conducted the assessment.

In addition, 31 accusations of racism were leveled against 15 different people, two clubs and one regional association. Some cases have been referred to Police Scotland.

Rafiq made his own allegations of institutional racism to the Yorkshire County Cricket Club after revealing in 2020 that he was suicidal due to the repeated racism he was exposed to while involved in cricket.

“Since I spoke out, I have a good relationship with Majid and Qasim,” Rafiq told Sky Sports. “I’m just incredibly proud of them and everyone else who played a part in the review.

Majid Haq (left) and Qasim Sheikh (right) have alleged racism against Cricket Scotland

“I hope they have given a sense of closure today and that they have been fully vindicated.”

He added: ‘Today is a start. The only thing I’d be a little wary of is that we’re not looking too far into the future right now.

“It’s very important to stay in the problem. There are many people who have faced abuse for years. There has to be an effort to rebuild those bridges, talk to them, re-engage them, apologize. Once that’s done, and only then, it’s important to look to the future — and how we’re doing it.

An explosive report on racism in Scottish cricket has revealed alarming details of institutional racism

“As I’ve seen in the last nine months, there are a lot of words, a lot of boxes checked and a lot of attempts to show that things are happening, but really, deep down, things don’t change.”

But Rafiq doesn’t think Cricket Scotland’s funding should be cut at this stage, saying: ‘If there’s an acceptance and an apology, then they need to be supported to make sure the change comes – and comes faster.

“If things don’t change and if there’s resistance to change, then I think at that point sportscotland needs to come a lot harder.

“But I think at this stage it’s really important that we support the game to get the change we all want.”

By