World

Essex cricket chairman quits over racism allegations

John Faragher denies the allegations against him, which relate to a board meeting in 2017

AFP November 12, 2021

John Faragher denies the racism allegations against him but the club are looking into why the incident was not fully and independently investigated. PHOTO: COURTESY/BBC

The chairman of English County Cricket Club Essex has resigned following a historical allegation of racist language.

John Faragher, who stepped down on Thursday, denies the allegations against him, which relate to a board meeting in 2017, but the club are looking into why the incident was not fully and independently investigated at the time.

John Stephenson, the former Essex and England cricketer who recently took over as the club's chief executive, said Friday: "There is no place for discrimination of any kind at Essex County Cricket Club."

It comes during a racism row that has engulfed rival county side Yorkshire.

Former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq was found by an independent report to have been subject to "racial harassment and bullying", with the Headingley-based club's chairman and chief executive resigning in the ensuing fall-out.

England captain Joe Root, who has spent all of his club career at Yorkshire, demanded change on Thursday, saying events at Headingley had "fractured our game and torn lives apart".

Also read: Pakistan-born cricketer in Yorkshire racism row urges 'cultural change'

An England and Cricket Board spokesman said:"There is absolutely no place for racism or any form of discrimination in our game.

"The England and Wales Cricket Board opened an investigation into Essex County Cricket Club after receiving an allegation involving John Faragher, who has subsequently resigned as the club chair. The ECB is taking this allegation extremely seriously."

COMMENTS (1)

NKAli | 3 years ago | Reply Racism is gathering line and length all over the world in sports office place sports and wherever people of different hues gather. PCB has to be ultra-careful of whatever that has seeped in must be diminished washed-out and exterminated ASAP. If you want to be World Champions then you must have a multi-layered and structured team with players from Gwadar Jiwani Turbat Sukkar Nawabshah Larkana Pishin Kalat and Karachi Shareef. An incident of 2017 has been investigated in 2021 and the Chairman resigned. This example must not be followed here but must immediately be investigated and the person involved must have the grace to admit this dire folly and resign himself rather than lose respect by getting booted out. Salams

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