Picture Credit: Twitter

Picture Credit: Twitter

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has recommended a fine of USD 636,497 (£500,000) on county club Yorkshire following a racism scandal against Azeem Rafiq. Not only this, but the club will also face points deduction in all three competitions this season. Earlier this year, Yorkshire admitted to four amended charges of bringing the game into disrepute. Rafiq, a former England U-19 captain of Pakistan descent, had told a Briti s h parliamentary committee of “inhuman” treatment he received at the club. 

Rafiq had also said that he had been a victim of institutional racism at the club. The punishment of the club will be finalised after a Cricket Discipline Committee (CDC) sanctions hearing. The overall fine has been broken into four charges - USD 1,27,248 (£100,000) for not managing Rafiq’s enquiry properly, USD 1,27,248 (£100,000) for mismanaging the data, USD 1,90,887 (£150,000) for not taking any action, and USD 1,90,887 (£150,000) for use of racist language at the club. The sanctions include a deduction of between 48 to 72 points in the County Championship and four to six points each in the One-Day Cup and T20 Blast. 

According to ESPNCricinfo, a large chunk of the fine, equaling to USD 4,45,331 (£350,000) will be suspended whereas the rest of the fine would be paid in instalments. The club’s lawyer Jane Mulcahy KC said that the club had "already suffered detriment" and asked the panel to consider their verdict, which will be announced in the month of July. 

In an official statement, the club said, "Racism and discrimination in any form is unacceptable and, as a board, we have been clear on the need to take accountability for the historical cultural issues that allowed racist and discriminatory behaviour to go unchallenged at the club. The acceptance of four amended charges brought by the CDC was part of a continued effort to acknowledge what happened in the past so we can learn and move forward.” 

Notably, the club is facing several difficulties these days as they have lost several sponsors over Rafiq’s case as well as they owe £15 million to the former chair Colin Graves’s family trust.