Racial abuse experienced by Azeem Rafiq is ‘toxic’ to game, cricket boss says | UK news

The chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has described the abuse suffered by former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq as “poison” for the game.

Speaking for the first time since the racism scandal rocked English cricket, Richard Gould admitted more needs to be done to restore the trust of communities where the governing body has not fully engaged as it should have.

Mr Gould, who was appointed to the role in January, said: “It was obviously an important moment for the game.

“It was the culmination of a lot of problems over a long period of time that had become toxic to the game. We had to make sure we could deal with those problems.”

Last week the former England captain Michael Vaughan was sanctioned by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC). accused of racism for making derogatory comments towards a group of Yorkshire team-mates of Asian ethnicity.

Five other players – John Blain, Tim Bresnan, Andrew Gale, Matthew Hoggard and Richard Pyrah, all of whom were uncooperative in CDC hearings, were found to have used racist and/or discriminatory language Rafiq and others – although Yorkshire County Cricket Club and batter, Gary Ballance admitted the charges against them.

The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report into racism, sexism and classification was due to be published this week but has been delayed yet again.

“I’m sure it will come out at some point soon, but I wouldn’t want them to rush their work at the expense of missing the opportunity to provide us with as much information as possible,” Mr Gould said. .

In February, former home secretary Priti Patel described the ECB’s transgender policy as “disgraceful” following reports of a trans woman playing with girls as young as 12.

Elaborating on the position of English cricket, Mr Gould said: “There are clearly examples where we need to provide more guidance to ensure the safest possible environment.

“We are going through a consultation process. But it is very likely that we will go to medical hormone levels as a first step, and there may be other steps that we take based on further consultation.”

With off-field issues dominating the headlines in recent weeks, the 53-year-old former chief executive of Bristol City Football Club is returning to cricket with a mission to make it “the most inclusive sport in the country”.