GEORGE DOBELL: ECB barrister Jane Mulcahy said tweets posted by Vaughan and now described by him as "unacceptable" were sent during a similar time period when he is alleged to have said "there's too many of you lot" to a group of Asian players
Michael Vaughan's historic tweets showed a "tendency to make racist comments", according to ECB barrister Jane Mulcahy, but the Cricket Discipline Commission heard on Tuesday (March 7) that Vaughan had been "denied due process" by the ECB investigation into allegations made against him.
Mulcahy, in her closing statement in the ECB's case against the former England captain in front of the CDC, made the point that tweets posted by Vaughan, and now described by him as "unacceptable", were sent during a similar time period when he is alleged to have said "there's too many of you lot" to a group of Asian players.
Vaughan is accused of making racist or discriminatory comments before a game in 2009. He has always strenuously denied the charges.
In 2010, Vaughan sent two tweets which, in the words of Mulcahy, were "complaining about foreigners"; while in 2017 he posted further tweets which appeared to suggest a link between Muslims and potential terrorism. Mulcahy said those tweets were consistent in tone to comments made to four Asian players before a game in June 2009, and provided an insight into Vaughan's character.
"If a person has a tendency to make racist comments, they have a tendency to make racist comments," Mulcahy said. "He put them there for all to see.
Vaughan is alleged to have said "there's too many of you lot" to a group of Asian players in 2009 (Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
"The supposed lighthearted but offensive expression in the tweets is very similar in tone to the comment made on June 22, 2009."
Mulcahy also made the point that, while two members of that Yorkshire team attended the hearing (either remotely or in person) and confirmed hearing the comments, no member of the Yorkshire team that day provided a statement on behalf of Vaughan, saying they did not hear the comments. Vaughan's lawyer, Paul Lunt, claimed earlier in the CDC hearings that he had obtained assertions from five players involved that day that they had not heard the remark.
As a consequence, Mulcahy concluded, there was "clear evidence" Vaughan made the alleged comments. "Far from it being inherently improbable, it is inherently probable," she said.
In reply, Christopher Stoner, Vaughan's barrister, argued there were inconsistencies with the recollections of witnesses and that the ECB investigation had shown "bias". Vaughan, he said, had been denied "due process" because of a "woefully inadequate investigation" which "denied him fairness".
Vaughan's "health and livelihood" are at stake, Stoner said, and insisted it was "inherently improbable" he had made the comments.
Michael Vaughan arrives to attend a Cricket Discipline Commission hearing in London (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
"Due process matters," he said. "It was sent on holiday by the ECB."
In particular, Stoner made the point that Azeem Rafiq was originally quoted as claiming Vaughan said "there's too many of your lot; we need to have a word about that" but has also been quoted as saying he said: "There's too many of your lot; we need to do something about it."
Stoner went on to say that, with more than 5,000 days having passed between the alleged incident and now, nobody could claim with any reliability what was said. Furthermore, he claimed that Vaughan was unlikely to make any such a comment in such close proximity to a TV camera - the match was televised and there is footage of the team huddle - and the possible presence of microphones.
Mulcahy, however, said the comments were "so close as to not found an argument" and insisted it was the "there's too many of you lot" section which was racist. She also said that Vaughan's claims that he had never heard Matthew Hoggard use racist language was "not credible" and "undermined his credibility generally".
Hoggard, who played 17 matches with Vaughan across 2009 and 2010, has admitted racist language was "widely used" in the Yorkshire environment at the time.
Gary Ballance has admitted to the charge of bringing the game into disrepute (George Wood/Getty Images)
Earlier the ECB outlined the cases against both Andrew Gale and Richard Pyrah. In both cases, they were charged with breaching ECB directive 3.3, which demands "no such person may conduct himself in a manner or do any act or omission which may be prejudicial to the interest of cricket or which may bring the game of cricket or any cricketer or group of cricketers into disrepute".
In Gale's case, he was accused of using racist or discriminatory language (in particular, it was alleged he used the term 'Rafa the Kaffir' as well as using the P word). Gale denied, via email, ever making or hearing such remarks and subsequently declined to participate in the disciplinary process.
The ECB barrister, Jane Mulch, made the point, however, that Gary Ballance and Matthew Hoggard had admitted using similar terms and Ajmal Shahzad had admitted hearing them, concluding it was "inherently improbable" he never heard the phrases.
Mulcahy also made the point that Gale, who has previously admitted using the word 'Yid' on social media, had a history of using "inappropriate language in the past" which was "an indicator that he is prone to speaking in a way that is wholly inappropriate".
Pyrah, meanwhile, was alleged to have used the expression 'FP' - an abbreviation of 'Fit P***' - as well as the expression "you lot" when referring to Asian players. The ECB also made the point that, while Pyrah had publicly said he had "never once been accused of or asked about any specific racism" he had been interviewed by the ECB on this subject.
Yorkshire's home ground, Headingley (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
In passing it was also alleged that Kunwar Bansil, one of the members of the medical staff sacked by Yorkshire in the aftermath of the allegations, had used the 'FP' expression. Bansil has not, at this stage, been charged by the ECB.
The ECB also provided closing statements for the 'non-attending respondents' - John Blain, Tim Bresnan, Gale, Hoggard and Pyrah - who were charged in connection with the case. Hoggard has admitted two of the four charges against him.
Former Yorkshire captain, Ballance, as well as the club have already pleaded guilty to similar charges. Ballance admits using the P word, while the club accepts, among other charges, that it allowed a racist environment to fester and failed to adequately investigate when complaints were made.
The CDC panel has said it will "endeavour" to publish its findings - including, where appropriate sanctions - by the end of the month.
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