Tom Harrison describes the racism scandal as an “earthquake” and the European Central Bank reveals an action plan | European Central Bank

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Tom Harrison, chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, insists he remains the right man to navigate the sport through a racism scandal which he has described as an earthquake triggered by allegations of a Great Companion of systemic discrimination in Yorkshire.

Speaking after the release of the European Central Bank’s 12-point action plan on Friday to tackle diversity in sport, Harrison said he had no intention of resigning despite heavy criticism and pressure from MPs and the government after the influential testimony by a companion in Parliament earlier this month. the month.

“I’m very committed to sorting this issue out with the game,” he said. “I understand that I have the support of the game and I am very excited to make sure that we offer this most welcoming environment across our sport to everyone. This is something I have been passionate about since the moment I entered this job and will not leave that now.

“The last few weeks have been very difficult for cricket. It feels like an earthquake has hit us.

“The most damning part about Azeem’s testimony is that he doesn’t want his son to be a part of the game. For someone in my job, that’s the hardest thing you can hear.”

“It’s sad, frankly, but sometimes I think an earthquake can provide the opportunity to speed up years and years of change in a very quick amount of time. Perhaps that is the shock that will give us the opportunity to unite this game once and for all.”

However, within minutes of the ECB’s action plan being published, Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Joe Stevens, said: “Today’s report is a reminder of the ECB’s past failures to control the racism scandal gripping cricket.

Many of the listed measures were supposed to have been in place years ago.

“Players, staff and fans will struggle to believe in a process overseen by the same people who have stood aside for so long. What we need is a proper independent investigation to encourage victims to come forward to make real changes across cricket.”

Harrison is set to share a £2.1m bonus with other top ECB executives if he remains in his job when the five-year long-term stimulus plan matures next year. Asked if it was appropriate to continue paying that bonus despite the damage to cricket’s reputation in recent weeks, Harrison said: “It’s a board matter. Look, that’s part of the contract I signed to join the ECB many years ago. “.

Cricket is committed to a plan of action to tackle racism and all forms of discrimination.

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England and Wales Cricket (@ECB_cricket) November 26, 2021

The European Central Bank’s plan unveiled on Friday includes 12 action points grouped into five key areas: education, locker room culture, diversity of talent pathways, environments and governance.

As the Guardian revealed on Tuesday, the main hurdle delaying the announcement of its proposed launch on Wednesday was the point that it required boards to diversify their leadership boards by April, with at least 30% of each county board required to be made up of women or” representative race” of the region.

When the plan was announced on Friday, it acknowledged the difficulties, saying, “Compliance will be subject to a ‘compliance or clarification’ requirement to ensure that municipalities respect their own governance processes in making the required change,”

Other key proposals include ongoing diversity training for all players, staff, referees and coaches from elite level to local clubs and crackdown on discriminatory crowd behaviour, availability of alcohol-free zones, places of prayer and halal food across all county grounds to create a welcoming environment for all.

Harrison admitted, “I know there are people who feel we had to go further, and I’d probably be in that camp myself, but we have to get everyone to fully agree to each one of those obligations.”

There will also be a full review of dressing room culture across all of the men’s and women’s professional teams, including at England level.

European Central Bank CEO Tom Harrison called the action a “collective in-game response” to the ongoing racism scandal. Photo: Victoria Jones / PA

Commenting on the England men’s team, whose players preparing for the Ashes match have not spoken to the British media since a companion appeared in Parliament on November 16, Harrison said: “I know the impact of recent events has been fully embraced by England’s men abroad. In Australia. They have spoken about That’s in positive ways – how they continue to evolve the dressing room culture to effectively reflect some of the feeling that comes out of the conversation in the game at the moment.

“You see the locker room leaders driving that conversation.”

There will also be a governance review of a portion of that business plan that Harrison acknowledged could see an independent regulator appointed to oversee cricket – a job the European Central Bank currently does in addition to promoting the game. “If a governance review comes back with a recommendation, you have to have very good reason not to agree with it,” he said.

The ECB plan got support from Sports Minister, Nigel Huddleston, who tweeted: “I welcome the action taken by the European Central Bank following the treatment of a great companion and other recent revelations. We will now work closely with them to ensure that all measures are taken, including a review of governance structures and work to eradicate racism in cricket forever.”

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