Azeem Rafiq reaffirms apology for anti-Semitic messages

Speaking on The Cricketer’s Cricket Club podcast, Rafiq addressed the potential for Thursday's revelations to undermine his position as "a voice for the voiceless"

Azeem Rafiq has reaffirmed his apology following the discovery of anti-Semitic messages sent during an exchange a decade ago, admitting to feeling “sick to my stomach” when he received screenshots of the Facebook messages.

The comments came to light on Thursday, two days after recounting his experiences of racism at Yorkshire in front of the DCMS committee at a parliamentary hearing.

There, he described himself as wanting to provide “a voice for the voiceless” in cricket’s ongoing fight against racism.

Speaking on The Cricketer’s Cricket Club podcast, he addressed the potential for those revelations to undermine that position but added that the cause was far greater than any individual.

“It’s not about me,” he said. “What we’ve tried to do from the offset with whatever decisions or actions to take is think about the cause. Whatever I end up doing or whatever ends up happening, the conversation has been smashed open well and proper. That has got to be a positive, right?”

On the messages themselves, he reflected: “To be honest, even before they came out into the open, as soon as I was sent the messages, I was pretty angry with myself.

“I caused hurt to a lot of people who had supported me, a lot of people who had supported me through a lot of tough times over the last 16 months. I was sick to my stomach. I just wanted to apologise, and I hope that came across in my apology.

“I’m not going to make any excuses for what I did. I said at the DCMS that I lost my career in cricket because of racism. The one thing I’m actually happy about is that because of racism I’ve actually become a better person. I genuinely believe that. I am a completely different person to what I was in every way. I made some terrible decisions, I regret them massively.

“But no matter what anyone throws at me, I will continue to make sure that the cause is at the forefront. It has never been about me and what I will do in the future. It really hasn’t. I will continue to push for the cause and make sure that cricket changes and becomes the game that we all love.”

Rafiq pinpointed listening to those who have suffered as the first step for the game in its efforts to move forward. “I think my testimony has triggered a lot of people,” he said.

“It has made them go: ‘Hold on a minute, I was looking the other way. This happened every day to me.’ It’s important before we all start rushing forward that we actually listen and support the people who have suffered.”

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— Azeem Rafiq (@AzeemRafiq30) November 18, 2021

He added: “I think this is where the game from the top needs leadership and to get everyone together. The game needs more of a human touch to itself; the leaders at the top need to rebuild trust with media, rebuild trust with community. And together, I really do think the intentions are right from the top.

“I think county cricket and counties need to take more responsibility and need to be pushed in the right direction a bit more, which I think hopefully the last few days or last few weeks is going to do that. But the first point of call is to make sure we listen to people.

“If someone has made a mistake, they apologise and accept it, we’ve got to give them a chance to change. Otherwise, we’re just getting rid of one and putting the second one in. What if he’s made a mistake? It’s just a merry-go-round and it isn’t going to achieve anything.”