Azeem Rafiq was accused of being ready to make use of the “race card” on the day Michael Vaughan defended himself towards a cost he made a racist comment to his former Yorkshire team-mate.
Matthew Wood, a former private growth supervisor on the Professional Cricketers’ Association, appeared as a witness in defence of Vaughan at a Cricket Discipline Commission listening to in London on Friday.
In his witness assertion Wood, himself an ex-Yorkshire participant, stated: “In my dealings with Azeem, I was aware of two occasions in which he (directly or indirectly) acknowledged that he would be prepared to use the ‘race card’.
“By that, I understood Azeem to mean that he would make, or allude to, an allegation of racism in bad faith in order to gain an advantage.”
Wood stated in his written assertion that these two events have been in 2018, when he and Rafiq spoke about whether or not the participant may be supplied a brand new contract, and in 2019 when Rafiq was in discussions over making an attempt to be accepted on to a stage 4 teaching course.
On the primary of these events, Wood stated in his written assertion: “I asked Azeem, ‘And what will you do if Yorkshire don’t offer you a new contract?’ Azeem replied with words to the effect of, ‘I’ll just hit them with the race card’.”
England and Wales Cricket Board lawyer Jane Mulcahy cross-examined Wood and referenced Rafiq’s witness assertion, by which Rafiq stated Wood’s assertion in regards to the teaching course was “an odd thing to claim”. Mulcahy set out the method by which Rafiq stated he had utilized for the teaching course.
Mulcahy advised the listening to Wood had not made reference to Rafiq ‘using the race card’ when chatting with Yorkshire investigators or the employment tribunal involving Rafiq.
“The reason you didn’t is that Mr Rafiq didn’t play the race card,” she stated.
Wood replied: “At the time it wasn’t asked and I wasn’t sure where it was going. My superiors at the PCA knew about Rafiq’s comments and I later added it to my statement.”
In Wood’s second witness assertion he recalled a cellphone name with Rafiq in late 2020, throughout which he claimed Rafiq stated he “never intended for things to get this big”, however that he felt he “had to stick with it now things have got this far”.
Wood stated: “I remember asking him, ‘How does this all end Azeem?’ and Azeem replied, ‘Someone has to pay’, to which I said, ‘Pay for what?’ and then Azeem said, ‘I don’t know’.”
Vaughan had earlier advised the listening to it was “inconceivable” he had made a racist remark to Rafiq, Adil Rashid, Ajmal Shahzad and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan throughout a match for Yorkshire in 2009.
He stated the entire course of was a “terrible look” for cricket.
“If you go through the history of me being a player, I don’t know any time I would have gone on to a pitch and said something to my team-mates that would have put them in a bad state of mind to play cricket,” he stated.
Vaughan did apologise for historic tweets he had posted, together with one in regards to the listing service 118 118 despatched in 2010, and stated he had enrolled on a web-based course to coach himself in 2021 when the historic tweets resurfaced.
Vaughan additionally stated he had met with Rafiq in November 2021.
“I apologised to Azeem on behalf of Yorkshire because clearly there have been issues,” Vaughan stated.
“I’m disgusted with what Azeem Rafiq has had to go through. We had a three- or four-hour discussion, we had fish and chips from (Rafiq’s) shop, they were nice.
“I had 17 years at Yorkshire, I loved every minute. My experience was not the experience that Azeem had and for that I was hugely apologetic.”
Mulcahy identified that, on the time of the assembly, Vaughan had nothing to do with Yorkshire.
“When you’ve been a captain you feel you have to stand up to be counted and speak. I used that opportunity to say I’m sorry,” Vaughan replied.
Mulcahy identified Vaughan had not made a private apology, and Vaughan replied: “I can’t apologise for something I don’t recollect saying.”
The lawyer requested why Vaughan had initiated the assembly, if he personally had not achieved something mistaken.
“I felt it was getting too big, hurting too many people. It’s not been easy for anybody, this,” he stated.
“I don’t think this is the right process to deal with a ‘word-versus-word’ process from 14 years ago. Whatever happens this has a terrible look on the game, a real bad look on how cricket has dealt with this situation.”
Vaughan’s witness assertion additionally stated the method had had “a profound impact” on him.
“My health and my personal well-being have suffered badly,” he stated.
During the listening to Vaughan was requested about his enjoying profession and factors when it intersected with these of different gamers, together with fellow respondent Matthew Hoggard.
“It’s like ‘A Question Of Sport’, this,” he joked.
Meanwhile, Liz Neto, who was head of HR at Yorkshire, recounted cellphone conversations with Rashid in her witness assertion by which the participant “indicated to me he was being pressured to corroborate allegations of racism then being made, even though he didn’t want to”.
“He said to me he had told Mr Rafiq, ‘No matter how many times you tell me I heard it Azeem, I cannot remember hearing it’,” stated Neto.
England bowler Rashid gave proof on Thursday and backed up Rafiq’s allegation about Vaughan’s remark.
“That’s just not what he said to me,” Neto stated beneath cross-examination. “He told me on more than one occasion that he couldn’t remember it.”
Vaughan’s lawyer Christopher Stoner KC had earlier criticised the thoroughness of the ECB’s investigation and the governing physique’s failure to contact different gamers concerned within the match, the umpires or a Sky digital camera operator whose footage fashioned a part of the proof.
Vaughan’s solicitor Paul Lunt later revealed his agency had contacted 5 of the opposite six gamers on the Yorkshire workforce that day, all of whom had confirmed that they had not heard the remark.
The CDC listening to was referred to as after the ECB charged Vaughan, six different people and Yorkshire as a membership in June final 12 months, in relation to allegations first publicly aired by Rafiq in 2020.
Five of these people – Hoggard, John Blain, Tim Bresnan, Andrew Gale and Richard Pyrah – are having fees towards them heard of their absence after they opted to not interact with the method.
The different particular person – Gary Ballance – has admitted a cost of utilizing racist and/or discriminatory language, whereas Yorkshire have admitted 4 fees, together with one which it “failed to address systemic use of racist and/or discriminatory language at Yorkshire over a prolonged period”.