Michael Vaughan reveals he is named in Azeem Rafiq report

Vaughan used his column in the Daily Telegraph to confirm that his name appears in the independent report compiled by a five-person panel into Rafiq's account of racial discrimination, harassment and bullying during his time at Yorkshire

Michael Vaughan has revealed he has been accused of racism by Azeem Rafiq, with the former England captain "categorically" denying the charge.

Vaughan used his column in the Daily Telegraph to confirm that his name appears in the independent report compiled by a five-person panel into Rafiq's account of racial discrimination, harassment and bullying during his time at Yorkshire.

Within it, the BBC pundit explains how he had been accused of saying to Rafiq, Adil Rashid, Ajmal Shahzad and Rana Naveed during a 2009 game against Nottinghamshire: "[there are] too many of you lot, we need to do something about it”.

Vaughan says in his column that he had "no idea" up until the night before his appearance why he had been called to give testimony to the inquiry panel in December 2020.

"I have been involved in cricket for 30 years and never once been accused of any remotely similar incident or disciplinary offence as a player or commentator," he wrote.

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

Vaughan declined to give evidence to the panel, owing to concerns over confidentiality and the relationship between the review commissioned by Yorkshire and the employment tribunal initiated by Rafiq with his former employer, which failed to find a resolution in June.

"I have nothing to hide," Vaughan wrote. "The “you lot” comment never happened. Anyone trying to recollect words said 10 years ago will be fallible but I am adamant those words were not used. If Rafiq believes something was said at the time to upset him then that is what he believes. It is difficult to comment on that except to say it hurts me hugely to think I potentially affected someone. I take it as the most serious allegation ever put in front of me and I will fight to the end to prove I am not that person.

^{Michael Vaughan has revealed he is named in the Azeem Rafiq report}

Vaughan revealed that a second complaint was also labelled against him by Rafiq, involving a comment made while he was working in a consultancy capacity for Yorkshire following his retirement.

In his Telegraph account, Vaughan writes that Rafiq alleged he deliberately sought to undermine his position within the Yorkshire T20 side by suggesting Kane Williamson should be signed "because he bowls off-spin as well as bats", with Rafiq stating in evidence that the comment was designed to make him feel inferior.

"I absolutely deny that I ever said what he claims and that I recommended Kane Williamson for anything other than purely cricketing reasons," Vaughan wrote. "But having heard what has come out in the last few days, I can see how his perspective, and his experience was clearly very different to how I saw things at Yorkshire at that time."

Vaughan's decision to make public the allegations comes ahead of Rafiq's scheduled appearance in front of the DCMS select committee on November 16.

Rafiq is expected to be given parliamentary privilege at the hearing, giving him the freedom to name those against whom he has made allegations. 

Yorkshire chairman Roger Hutton and director of cricket Martyn Moxon are expected to be called to appear in front of the committee, whose chair - Julian Knight MP - has already called for the resgination of the club's board of directors.

More sponsors abandoned Yorkshire on Thursday, with Nike and Harrogate Spring Water adding their names to a growing list of brands distancing themselves from the club.

Leeds Beckett University has also "paused" all work with Yorkshire.

^{Azeem Rafiq is set to appear in front of the DCMS select committee on November 16}

The county has been suspended from hosting international cricket by the ECB until it can prove that it "can meet the standards expected of an international venue, ECB member and first-class county", with the men's Test match against New Zealand and one-day international against South Africa in 2022 immediately at risk.

Headingley will also be barred from hosting The Hundred final or eliminator.

Gary Ballance, the current Yorkshire batsman identified in Rafiq's testimony as having used a racial slur against his former teammate, has been suspended from selection for England pending an investigation into his past conduct.

Ballance, who last played for England in 2017, issued a statement on Wednesday night addressing the issue.

"I am aware of how hurtful the racial slur is and I regret that I used this word in immature exchanges in my younger years and I am sure Rafa feels the same about some of the things he said to me as well," he said.

Read Michael Vaughan's full Daily Telegraph column

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