Two days after Pakistani-origin Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq made claims about losing his career to racism, he has now come under fire over derogatory remarks against the Jewish community.
On Tuesday (November 16), Rafiq had testified before the digital, culture, media and sport select committee of the British Parliament about the prevalence of institutional racism at the Yorkshire cricket club, where he played between 2008-2014 and 2016-2018. He had alleged that Yorkshire did nothing to stop the racial remarks hurled by senior English players and coaches, despite repeated complaints. The Pakistani-origin cricketer went on to add that he lost his career to racism.
While the case of Azeem Rafiq had sent ripples down the cricketing fraternity about the existence of racial prejudice, his anti-Semitic remarks had put the spotlight back on him. On Thursday (November 18), The Times published a screenshot of comments made by Rafiq during a conversation with former Warwickshire cricketer Ateeq Javid. The comments were made in 2011, when Rafiq was 19-years-old.
During the conversation with Javid, Rafiq accused another player of being stingy in spending on team dinners for the virtue of being a Jew. “Haha propa ripped bro… How wrong is that? Only Jews do that sort of sh*t.” The timing of the revelation has led to embarrassment for the Pakistani-born cricketer. In a tweet on Thursday, Rafiq tendered his apology to the Jewish community.
Azeem Rafiq apolgised for his anti-Semitic remarks
He wrote, “I was sent an image of this exchange from early 2011 today. I have gone back to check my account and it is me – I have absolutely no excuses. I am ashamed of this exchange and have now deleted it so as not to cause further offense.” Azeem Rafiq further added, “I was 19 at the time and I hope and believe I am a different person today. I am incredibly angry at myself and I apologize to the Jewish community and everyone who is rightly offended by this.”
— Azeem Rafiq (@AzeemRafiq30) November 18, 2021
Allegations of racism made by Rafiq against Yorkshire cricket club
In an interview with ESPNcricinfo in September last year, the Pakistani-origin cricketer had levelled allegations of racism against the Yorkshire cricket club for the first time. He said that the treatment meted out him, pushed him to the brink of suicide. “I know how close I was to committing suicide during my time at Yorkshire. I was living my family’s dream as a professional cricketer, but inside I was dying. I was dreading going to work. I was in pain every day.”
Rafiq claimed that he regretted trying to fit in by doing un-Islamic things. “But as soon as I stopped trying to fit in, I was an outsider. There were no coaches on the staff from a similar background who understood what it was like,” he narrated.
He had claimed that the Yorkshire cricket club did not take any action against it. “Yorkshire don’t want to listen and they don’t want to change. And part of the reason for that is the people who were involved in the incidents I’m talking about are still at the club. They just want to sweep it under the carpet,” he had said.
During his recent testimony before the digital, culture, media and sport select committee of the British Parliament, Azeem Rafiq claimed to have been force-fed alcohol. “I got pinned down at my local cricket club and had red wine poured down my throat, literally down my throat. The player played for Yorkshire and Hampshire. I then didn’t touch alcohol until about 2012 and around that time I felt I had to do that to fit in,” he said.
The Pakistani-origin cricketer claimed that Yorkshire cricketer Gary Ballance would call black and Asian players by the name of ‘Kevin.’ Rafiq added that English cricketer Alex Hales had even named his black dog as ‘Kevin.’ He also accused senior players of calling him ‘Paki’, ‘elephant washer’ and other derogatory remarks targeted at his ethnicity.
