LONDON: English cricket was forced to confront its racist culture on Tuesday when former player Azeem Rafiq testified through tears at a parliamentary hearing but with a determination to expose the Islamophobia and bullying he suffered for more than a decade.
“Do I believe I lost my career to racism? Yes, I do,” said Rafiq, who played for Yorkshire — England’s most successful cricket club.
“I hope in five years’ time we are going to see a big change, that I did something far bigger than any runs or any wickets I got.”
Racism complaints that led to Yorkshire launching an investigation in September 2020 reached the British Parliament after the report that dismissed some abuse as “friendly banter” led to no immediate departures from the club’s hierarchy and was not publicly released.
Rafiq told legislators that Yorkshire teammates used an offensive term referencing his Pakistani heritage and that the leadership at the 33-time winners of the English county championship failed to act on the racism.
“Pretty early on, (for) me and other people from an Asian background,” Rafiq told a House of Commons select committee overseeing sport, “there were comments such as, ‘You lot sit there near the toilets,’ ‘Elephant washers.’ The word P(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk) was used constantly. And there just seemed to be an acceptance in the institution from the leaders and no one stamped it out.”
Asked if he thought cricket was institutionally racist in the country, Rafiq responded: “Yes, I do.”
Two former players at Essex have recently also said they were racially abused at that club, whose chairman resigned las week over the use of racist language at a board meeting four years ago.
Rafiq, a former England Under-19 captain, said he felt “isolated, humiliated at times” by his treatment at Yorkshire during two spells playing for the club from 2008 to 2018.
During testimony, Rafiq also made fresh claims of racial discrimination against former England internationals Matthew Hoggard, Tim Bresnan, Alex Hales and Gary Ballance who are accused of using the offensive abbreviation of Pakistani toward him.
“For any part I played in contributing to Azeem Rafiq’s experience of feeling bullied at Yorkshire, I apologize unreservedly,” Bresnan said.
Rafiq said Ballance’s use of “Kevin” as a blanket derogatory term for all people of color was “an open secret in the England dressing room” and Hales called his dog Kevin because it was black.
“It’s disgusting how much of a joke it was,” Rafiq said.
As a graduate of the Yorkshire academy, Rafiq recalled Hoggard told Asian players “you lot sit over there” and referred to them as “elephant washers.”
Rafiq has also said former England captain Michael Vaughan said “there’s too many of you lot” at a 2009 game for Yorkshire. Vaughan denies saying it.
Yorkshire said last month that it would not take any disciplinary action against any of its employees, players or executives despite a report upholding seven of the 43 allegations that Rafiq was the victim of racial harassment and bullying. Only recently have the chairman and chief executive resigned.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has suspended Yorkshire from hosting international matches over its “wholly unacceptable” response to the racism faced by Rafiq, while sponsors are ending deals, including kit supplier Nike.
“I agree that the handling of the report indicates issues around institutional racism,” ECB chief executive Tom Harrison told legislators.
Rafiq said he was being talked about as a captain of Yorkshire before reporting his concerns in 2017. Then Rafiq said board minutes said he was “a problem, a troublemaker and an issue that needs to be resolved.”
That followed a 2017 preseason tour when Rafiq said he suffered abuse from a teammate in front of others.
“Gary Ballance walks over and goes, ‘Why are you talking to him? You know he’s a P(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk).’ Or, ‘He’s not a sheikh, he’s got no oil,’” Rafiq testified.
Two weeks ago, Ballance, a former England cricketer, admitted to using a racial slur against Rafiq when they were teammates at Yorkshire, but said that was in the context of friends saying offensive things to each other.
In a written submission to the hearing, Rafiq claimed that Yorkshire “protected” Ballance by allowing him to miss drug hair sample tests to avoid sanctions.
“When he failed a recreational drug test and was forced to miss some games,” Rafiq said, “the club informed the public he was missing games because he was struggling with anxiety and mental health issues.”
At one point the committee had to break for several minutes after Rafiq grappled with the emotions of recounting painful experiences.
The Pakistan-born Rafiq, who is Muslim, described his distressing first experience of alcohol at the age of 15 after being asked about his drinking.
“I got pinned down at my local cricket club and had red wine poured down my throat, literally down my throat,” the 30-year-old Rafiq said. “I (then) didn’t touch alcohol until about 2012 and around that time I felt I had to do that to fit in. I wasn’t perfect. There are things I did which I felt I had to do to achieve my dreams.
“I deeply regret that but it has nothing to do with racism. When I spoke I should have been listened to. The game as a whole has a problem, with listening to the victim. There is no ‘yeah, but’ with racism; there is no ‘two sides’ to racism.”
English cricket racism exposed by victim Rafiq at parliament
https://arab.news/64tpe
English cricket racism exposed by victim Rafiq at parliament
- “Do I believe I lost my career to racism? Yes, I do," said Rafiq, who played for Yorkshire — England's most successful cricket club
- Racism complaints that led to Yorkshire launching an investigation in September 2020 reached the British Parliament
Babar and Rizwan lead Pakistan smash-and-grab T20 series win over Ireland
- The Pakistani captain calls the match ‘good practice’ ahead of the T20 World Cup next month
- Shaheen Shah Afridi finished with 3-14 off four overs while Mohammad Amir contributed 1-32
DUBLIN: Pakistan blew away Ireland by six wickets and won its Twenty20 series 2-1 on Tuesday.
The Pakistanis chased down 193 with 3.1 overs to spare on Sunday to level the series and had no problems overhauling Ireland’s 178 on Tuesday with three overs remaining.
Captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan crushed the home bowling in a second-wicket stand of 139 runs.
Babar lashed 75 off 42 balls and Rizwan clobbered 56 off 38. They were out in consecutive overs on the verge of victory.
Successive sixes by Azam Khan wrapped it up 181-4 to 178-7.
“Big tournament coming up and this is good practice,” Babar said with the T20 World Cup next month.
Rizwan hardly saw the strike in the first three overs but once he lost his opening partner Saim Ayub, he opened up. Rizwan hit three sixes and four boundaries.
Babar struck four sixes in one Ben White over — the 14th — and finished with five maximums and six boundaries.
His 39th fifty-plus score broke Virat Kohli’s record in T20s.
Ireland were looking good for eclipsing its Sunday total halfway through its innings.
Captain Lorcan Tucker and opener Andy Balbirnie blazed 85 runs for the second wicket. Balbirnie made 35.
Tucker hit 73 off 41 with 13 boundaries but when he was caught at deep extra cover, Ireland folded in the face of outstanding death bowling.
Shaheen Shah Afridi finished with 3-14 off four overs, Mohammad Amir contributed 1-32 and Imad Wasim was an economical 1-23.
Pakistan move to England for a four-match T20 series starting on Tuesday.
‘Long live Saudi Arabia!’: Tyson Fury’s father hails Kingdom, promises sons will only fight in KSA
- John Fury: Only Saudi Arabia could have set up Tyson-Usyk fight
- Tells Arab News he expects a good fight from the veterans on Saturday
RIYADH: The father of British boxing champion Tyson Fury has promised his sons will only fight in Saudi Arabia going forward as he hailed the hospitality of the people of the Kingdom, and even said he wants to be like them.
“Tyson Fury and the Fury family will only fight again in Saudi Arabia,” John Fury said. “This is where our heart is, we love it, the people love us”.
“Long live Saudi Arabia!” he said lifting his hands to the sky, during a passionate press conference in Boulevard City in Riyadh.
Tyson Fury faces Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight world title on Saturday at Kingdom Arena.
“I can’t express how much I enjoy this country and the people,” he said. “And I just want to be like them…because the worst man in Saudi Arabia is better than John Fury”.
“The Brits are traitors, aren’t they?’ Fury said, without elaborating on who he was referring to, and accused them of committing treason against ‘their King,’ a reference to Tyson’s nickname ‘Gypsy King’.
“Forget Great Britain, our heart, look here, beating in my body, is in Saudi Arabia because we get treated like proper people, how we deserve to be treated.”
He went on to say that Britain had never made him “feel well” and because “they could not get behind the champion,” they stand to miss out.
Saudi Arabia has become a hub for premier world boxing contests over the past few years with authorities investing heavily to bring the biggest bouts to local and international audiences.
Turki bin Abdulmohsen Alalshikh, the head of the Kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority, has spearheaded this boxing revival.
Fury snr. had high praise for the authority’s chief, “he has done the best job in the world,” he said, adding that only Saudi Arabia could have set up the Tyson-Usyk fight.
“Nobody could ever have put this fight on except Turki Alalshikh and the great Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Previous bouts in the country have garnered the attention of fans globally and has marked the Kingdom as a new home of international boxing.
In March, British heavyweight Anthony Joshua knocked out Francis Ngannou in the second round.
Another member of the Fury family, Tommy, beat YouTuber-turned-fighter Jake Paul on points in a contest in Diriyah last year.
In 2022, Usyk successfully defended his belts in a rematch against Joshua in Jeddah on points, with the Londoner failing to win back his titles against the Ukrainian.
In 2019, Joshua defeated Andy Ruiz Jr. in a revenge match at Diriyah Arena in Riyadh after the American surprised the Brit with a defeat in New York.
George Groves was knocked out by Callum Smith in the seventh round in an all-British grudge match in Jeddah in 2018.
Tyson-Usyk was delayed in February after a freak cut to Tyson during sparring, but both spectators and organizers are glad that the boxing spectacle is set for this weekend.
Fury snr. told Arab News that both fighters are at the top of their game and are veterans of the sport.
“It’ll be a good fight”.
Haaland double puts Man City on brink of Premier League history
- The build-up to the game in north London was dominated by a fierce debate over whether home fans wanted their own team to lose in order to leave City in the driving seat, with Arsenal their nearest challengers
LONDON: Erling Haaland scored twice to settle Manchester City’s nerves as the Premier League champions beat Tottenham 2-0 to take a giant step toward a historic fourth consecutive English title on Tuesday.
The Norwegian forward tapped home a pinpoint Kevin De Bruyne cross early in the second half to score City’s first-ever league goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and netted a late penalty to seal the three points.
It takes Pep Guardiola’s team two points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table and means victory at the Etihad against West Ham on Sunday will make them champions for a fourth straight season, regardless of the Gunners’ result against Everton.
No team in English top-flight history has ever won four titles in a row.
Defeat for Spurs also guarantees that Aston Villa will finish in the fourth Champions League spot, joining City, Arsenal and Liverpool in Europe’s top-tier competition next season.
The build-up to the game in north London was dominated by a fierce debate over whether home fans wanted their own team to lose in order to leave City in the driving seat, with Arsenal their nearest challengers.
The Spurs supporters made their feelings toward their bitter local rivals clear in the opening minutes, with chants of “Stand up if you hate Arsenal” ringing around the stadium.
Both sides settled quickly and Spurs had the first sight of goal when a raking ball from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg found Brennan Johnson on the right.
Johnson squared for Rodrigo Bentancur, who unleashed a fierce shot that Ederson tipped over.
Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario kept out Phil Foden’s close-range shot after 15 minutes with a strong right hand.
City, who came into the match on an unbeaten run of 21 matches, were short of their fluent best while Spurs struggled to put the finishing touches to their attacking moves.
The game opened up toward the end of the first period, with City defender Josko Gvardiol flashing a shot over the bar from a tight angle but the sides finished the opening 45 minutes with just one shot on target apiece.
Moments after the re-start Vicario was forced to dive full length to keep out a stinging De Bruyne effort while Son Heung-min went close at the other end after being found by Johnson.
But City broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when Bernardo Silva found De Bruyne in the box and the Belgian crossed for Haaland to slot home from point-blank range.
Thousands of Spurs fans chanted “Are you watching Arsenal” as the City fans celebrated in their corner.
The game then became disjointed as first De Bruyne was hurt by a Pape Sarr tackle on his ankle before Ederson took a blow to the head in denying Cristian Romero and was replaced minutes later by Stefan Ortega.
The German was called into action immediately, keeping out substitute Dejan Kulusevski’s close-range shot with his legs.
The visitors’ hearts were in their mouths when Son burst through with five minutes of normal time remaining but Ortega saved with his legs when he seemed likely to score.
Guardiola fell to the ground, clutching his head in disbelief.
Instead City were awarded a penalty when Pedro Porro brought down substitute Jeremy Doku and Haaland smashed home in the 91st minute to spark wild celebrations from the players in front of the City faithful, taking his league tally to 27 goals for the season.
Last year’s treble winners will prepare for Sunday’s finale knowing they stand just 90 minutes away from creating another slice of football history.
Stubbs gives Delhi IPL play-off hope with win in last league match
- Left-handed Porel hit 58 before Stubbs smashed an unbeaten 57 off 25 balls to steer Delhi to 208-4 after being invited to bat first
- Ishant Sharma led the bowling charge with three early wickets as Delhi restricted Lucknow to 189-9 despite valiant knocks from Nicholas Pooran (61) and Arshad Khan, who hit an unbeaten 58
NEW DELHI: Fiery fifties from Abishek Porel and Tristan Stubbs helped Delhi Capitals sign off their IPL league phase on a high as they beat Lucknow Super Giants by 19 runs on Tuesday.
The win took Delhi to 14 points in 14 matches and they remain technically in the mix to reach the play-offs of the T20 tournament, but a run-rate in the negative keeps their chances slim.
“We are still in contention even after the last game,” Delhi skipper Rishabh Pant said after he returned to lead the side following a one-match ban for slow over-rate.
“We had a better chance of qualifying if I would have had a chance to play in the last game (which Delhi lost).”
The left-handed Porel hit 58 before Stubbs smashed an unbeaten 57 off 25 balls to steer Delhi to 208-4 after being invited to bat first at their high-scoring home venue, Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Pant, a left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman, made 33 to cap off an impressive season after he came back in the IPL from a horror car crash in December 2022.
“Personally, it was fantastic to come back,” said Pant, who has been picked in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup next month.
“It was heartening to see the support from entire India. Was a long time to wait after one-and-a-half years. I want to be on the field all the time. Don’t want to miss any action.”
KL Rahul-led Lucknow have 12 points with one more match to play and have their hopes hanging by a thread.
The result confirmed a play-off spot for Rajasthan Royals, who became the second team to enter the final four alongside table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders.
The top four teams make the play-offs. The final is on May 26 in Chennai.
Ishant Sharma led the bowling charge with three early wickets as Delhi restricted Lucknow to 189-9 despite valiant knocks from Nicholas Pooran, who smashed 61, and Arshad Khan, who hit an unbeaten 58.
Delhi lost attacking opener Jake Fraser-McGurk for a duck but Porel and Shai Hope, who struck 38, put on 92 runs to lay the foundations of the big total.
Delhi stuttered in the middle after they lost Porel, Hope and then Pant at regular intervals and Lucknow bowlers checked the flow of runs.
But Stubbs had other ideas and he hit back with a flurry of fours and sixes to fire Delhi past the 200 as the last three overs cost Lucknow 45 runs.
Lucknow suffered early blows after pace spearhead Ishant took down Rahul, for five, and Quinton de Kock, for 12, inside three overs.
Marcus Stoinis was stumped by Pant off spinner Axar Patel and Ishant, who was named man of the match, struck again to make Lucknow slip to 44-4.
Stubbs made it count with his off-spin as he sent back impact substitute Ayush Badoni out for six to end a 27-run partnership with Pooran.
The left-handed Pooran attempted to drive the chase in his 27-ball knock laced with six fours and four sixes but he left a lot to be done when he departed in the 12th over.
Number eight Arshad then raised hopes of a turnaround with his late charge as he raised his first T20 50 in 25 balls to give Delhi a scare.
Arshad kept losing partners as he continued the charge but in the end failed to match up the asking-rate.
Paris garbage collectors strike months before Olympics
Paris city hall said that 16 percent of staff, or one in six, were striking
PARIS: Paris garbage collectors went on strike on Tuesday, two and a half months before the French capital is due to host the Summer Olympic Games.
Paris rubbish collectors had been warning that they could strike over the summer, raising the spectre of piles of stinking trash roasting in summer heat on the streets as hordes of athletes and tourists descend on the City of Light.
Unions and city hall differed on how many of the collectors had walked off the job on Tuesday.
Paris city hall said that 16 percent of staff, or one in six, were striking.
“Collection services were little affected today,” a city hall official told AFP, without providing further details.
But the CGT union branch that represents garbage collectors, hailed a “strong” mobilization effort, saying that 70-90 percent of staff, depending on the “arrondissement” district of the capital, had walked off the job.
CGT said that some 400 striking workers had on Tuesday morning “occupied” the building housing city hall’s human resources department.
City hall put the number at 100 and said they had left by mid-day.
CGT had warned that walkouts would occur on several days in May and then continue from July 1 to September 8.
Summer Olympics will run in Paris from July 26 until August 11, and the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8.
Refuse workers in the Paris region are demanding an extra 400 euros ($430) per month and a one-off 1,900-euro bonus for those working during the Olympics, when French workers traditionally take time off for the summer holidays.
The mayor’s office had previously told AFP that it would extend to refuse collectors bonuses of between 600 and 1,900 euros that it had already announced for workers contributing to the Olympics effort.
The mayor of Paris’s 17th district, Geoffroy Boulard, said the strike was “irresponsible.”
“To take hostage not only Parisians but also tourists and visitors is also an attack on France’s world image,” he said on Tuesday.
In March last year, a three-week strike by rubbish collectors against President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular pensions reform saw more than 10,000 tons of waste piled in Paris streets at its height.
Images of the heaps of trash, some mounting several meters high, were seen around the world.
