Former England captain Michael Vaughan sees ECB racism charges against him dismissed

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan saw ECB racism charges against him dismissed, making the announcement on his own Instagram page.

Vaughan was accused of making a racist comment towards Yorkshire teammates of Asian descent Azeem Rafiq, Adil Rashid, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Ajmal Shahzad before a match in 2009.

Vaughan was alleged to have told them: “That’s too many of you, we need to talk about it.”

However, the Cricket Disciplinary Commission dismissed the charges against 2005 Ashes winner Vaughan in a verdict released on Friday morning.

In a statement posted to his Instagram account shortly before the official verdict was released, Vaughan wrote: “At times this process has brought me to the brink of falling out of love with cricket.”

Azeem Rafiq was one such Yorkshire player of Asian descent allegedly the subject of Vaughan’s comments in 2009.

“I won’t address here the toll it has taken on me and my family, but I have no doubt that it has also been incredibly stressful for everyone else involved.

“I hope that for them and for cricket, an inclusive healing process can now begin.

“Now that the ECB charge against me has been dismissed, I want to thank the panel for their careful attention in very difficult circumstances and thank everyone who has supported me during an incredibly difficult period of my life.”

Vaughan has always categorically denied using racist language.

His statement continued: ‘It has been difficult and upsetting to hear about the painful experiences that Azeem has described over the past three years.

“The outcome of these CDC proceedings must not be allowed to detract from the central message that there can be no place for racism in the game of cricket, or in society at large.

‘As with others who have spoken about their time in Yorkshire, I can only speak to my own experiences and my own time there. The dismissal of the specific charge that concerned me does not take anything away from Azeem’s own lived experiences.

‘The hearing made it public that Azeem and I met eighteen months ago, long before the CDC proceedings began.

Vaughan revealed the outcome of the Cricket Disciplinary Commission adjudication in a lengthy statement posted to his Instagram account on Friday morning.

So I told him that I am sorry for his negative and unacceptable experiences in the club that I love and in the sport that I love. We had what I thought was a really positive and constructive discussion.

“We joined hands with the shared intention to work together to create positive change in cricket.

‘For my part, nothing has changed in that sense. There is still work to be done and I remain willing to help bring about positive change in any way I can. Cricket has been my life. Particularly with an issue like this, the CDC’s procedures were an inappropriate, inappropriate, and backwards step.

‘One of the many reasons I hold that view is because CDC procedures are contradictory. They invite the demand and counterclaim. They invite those involved to accuse each other of falsehoods or lies.

‘The inevitable consequence of the ECB’s decision-making was that 3 former team-mates, one of whom is a current England international, turned on each other in what later became a public forum for everyone to I saw it.

‘Despite being criticized by the ECB for not accusing others of lying. I remain of the opinion that nothing good can come of that approach. There are no winners in this process and there are better ways, there have to be better ways, for cricket to move forward positively and effectively.

“I have never wanted to do anything that goes against genuine efforts to clean up the game of cricket. I really hope people can understand why, on a personal level, I couldn’t just accept or apologize for something I know I didn’t do.

More to follow.