England cricket club Essex indicted for alleged 'systemic' racism

England's Essex county cricket team faces a possible points deduction and a hefty fine after being accused of alleged “systemic” racist comments and conduct over a nine-year period.

The accusation, made by cricket's independent regulator, echoes the racist row involving former Yorkshire bowler Azeem Rafiq, which had major repercussions throughout the English game.

“The Cricket Regulator alleged that there was systemic use of racist and/or discriminatory language and/or behavior in Essex, during the period between 2001 and 2010, to which Essex did not respond. failed to remedy,” said a statement released Monday.

“An independent panel of the Cricket Disciplinary Commission will hear the matter in due course.”

Essex said they had fully cooperated with the regulator and would “gladly participate” with the CDC, which will hear the matter.

Unlike Yorkshire, which has been widely criticized for its handling of the Rafiq case, Essex appointed an independent senior counsel, Katharine Newton KC, in 2021 to investigate allegations of racist remarks and conduct made by Jahid Ahmed, Zoheb Sharif and Maurice Chambers.

Newton was recruited shortly after former Essex and England cricketer John Stephenson took over as manager of the club.

Its report, published last December, found that referencing players' ethnic, racial and religious backgrounds was “entirely normalized and tolerated behavior” in Essex's dressing room culture between the mid-1990s and around 2013, under the mistaken belief that it was acceptable. 'kidding'.

Essex announced in February that it had sanctioned people following Newton's findings, but did not name any names.

In July last year, Yorkshire were fined £400,000, with £300,000 suspended for two years, and lost 48 Championship points and four T20 Blast points.

This sanction follows their handling of Rafiq's allegations of discrimination and their failure to combat the systemic use of racist and discriminatory remarks between 2004 and 2021.

Two years ago, Essex was fined £50,000 after pleading guilty to the charge that former chairman John Faragher used a racist epithet at a board meeting in February 2017.

Faragher has repeatedly denied the accusation.

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