Matthew Hoggard: ECB's Yorkshire racism hearings 'have failed everybody'

Former England cricketer Matthew Hoggard says the Yorkshire humanities racism probe and disciplinary process has failed everyone involved, including Azeem Rafiq.

Rafiq archetypal made claims of racism astatine Yorkshire successful August 2020 and aboriginal called English cricket "institutionally racist".

Hoggard, who played region cricket for Yorkshire and Leicestershire, says helium is connected "good terms" with Rafiq, whom helium called aft seeing him look connected tv successful September 2020.

He told BBC Sport: "The process has failed everybody. Every enactment progressive has a occupation with the mode this process has been dealt with.

"Azeem [Rafiq] has a occupation with it, each the respondents have, [former Yorkshire chairman] Lord Patel has, Yorkshire have. There has got to beryllium a amended way."

Hoggard is facing 4 charges of bringing the crippled into disrepute, centred connected allegedly utilizing racist connection during his clip astatine Yorkshire.

In his archetypal interrogation since allegations were made against him, Hoggard added: "I'm pulling retired due to the fact that I don't deliberation it's a just process.

"There are nary winners successful this. It is not an admittance of guilt. The radical who cognize the truth, cognize the truth. That is each that matters to me.

"I, arsenic a respondent, person not been spoken to by the ECB once."

The ECB said it "wrote to individuals to springiness them an accidental to respond successful penning earlier immoderate complaint was filed" and that "any responsive who requested we besides talk to them was besides spoken to".

Rafiq said that implicit the past 2 years helium has been vindicated "time and again".

He added: "This has included a ineligible probe that confirmed I was a unfortunate of radical harassment and bullying; a Yorkshire-commissioned sheet that concluded I suffered discrimination; galore apologies, some nationalist and private, from radical who witnessed oregon were progressive successful this behaviour; and others person travel guardant to corroborate the civilization successful the wider game."

In what Hoggard says volition beryllium his lone nationalist comments connected the matter, helium claims:

• The probe and disciplinary process has been flawed from the outset
• The ECB is refusing to manus implicit grounds collected during its investigation, careless of whether they would assistance oregon harm his defence
• His narration with Rafiq is that of "friends" and does not judge his erstwhile team-mate acceptable retired to prosecute individuals
• The 4 charges against him are a substance of past "dressing-room civilization alternatively than racism"

In a statement, the ECB said: "Individuals are entitled to take not to enactment successful the hearings if they wish, but the cases volition inactive beryllium heard successful their lack and we are satisfied that the disciplinary process successful this substance has been some rigorous and fair.

"As with immoderate lawsuit earlier the Cricket Discipline Commission, defendants are entitled to a just proceeding by an autarkic and experienced CDC Panel wherever they tin telephone witnesses, and they tin besides situation the grounds successful enactment of the charge, including done cross-examination of the ECB's witnesses. It is wholly the determination of defendants if they take not to instrumentality vantage of this opportunity.

"At the extremity of the proceeding it is for the autarkic CDC Panel, not the ECB, to find guilt oregon different and immoderate sanction."

'How tin we support ourselves?'

Matthew Hoggard pictured successful June 2021

Hoggard, an Ashes victor with England successful 2005, was 1 of 7 individuals charged alongside Yorkshire successful June of past twelvemonth pursuing allegations by Rafiq of humanities racism.

Ex-Yorkshire skipper and manager Andrew Gale withdrew his engagement successful the process soon aft being charged.

Hoggard pulled retired connected Friday, on with ex-England all-rounder Tim Bresnan and erstwhile Scotland gait bowler John Blain

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan, ex-England planetary Gary Ballance and ex-Yorkshire bowler Richard Pyrah are the others facing charges astatine a proceeding of the ECB's Cricket Disciplinary Commission successful March.

The CDC has determined to clasp the proceeding successful nationalist - the archetypal clip it has done truthful - pursuing a petition from erstwhile rotation bowler Rafiq.

Hoggard gave a connection to the ECB aft helium was charged, but says helium has ne'er been interviewed arsenic portion of the investigatory process.

He claims the ECB contacted 56 witnesses arsenic portion of its investigation, but says the governing assemblage is refusing to crook implicit each of the grounds collected contempt extended requests from Hoggard's lawyers. The 46-year-old besides says determination are circumstantial dates attached to lone 1 of the 4 charges against him.

"How tin we support ourselves?" said Hoggard. "How tin anyone person a just trial?

"The ECB person got grounds - whether it helps oregon hinders america - that they volition not fto america see. Why is this?

"This process has been flawed from the start, from some aspects. I consciousness atrocious for Azeem if helium doesn't consciousness similar his dependable is heard.

"It's not just connected anyone successful this process. How travel it has taken truthful agelong for it get here?"

The ECB said it has "followed due process throughout, including complying with its disclosure obligations and providing worldly to the applicable parties astatine the due time".

'Good terms' with Rafiq

Rafiq's archetypal spell with Yorkshire, betwixt 2008 and 2014, coincided with Hoggard's last years with the region earlier helium signed for Leicestershire successful 2009. Rafiq had a 2nd spell astatine Headingley betwixt 2016 and 2018.

His allegations of racism astatine Yorkshire were archetypal made successful an interrogation with the Cricket Badger podcast successful August 2020, and Hoggard phoned Rafiq the pursuing month. The 2 person remained successful interaction since.

"We are connected bully presumption due to the fact that we've ne'er fallen retired oregon had a crossed word," said Hoggard. "Our narration has been that of friends for a agelong time. Azeem mislaid his mode successful cricket and felt similar Yorkshire fto him down.

"I've spoken to Raffa a fewer times. In 1 of his statements helium said: 'I did not past and bash not present deliberation Matthew Hoggard is simply a racist person.'

"Azeem says I've got thing to interest astir connected his archetypal spell astatine Yorkshire. That is bully capable for me."

Hoggard besides says Rafiq called him aft his archetypal quality successful beforehand of a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) prime committee successful November 2021 to apologise for the enactment helium mislaid and the harm to his reputation.

"I was grateful to Matthew Hoggard for calling maine to apologise soon aft I went nationalist successful 2020," said Rafiq. "It is regrettable, though, that these defendants are not consenting to spell to a nationalist proceeding and look what happened."

Hoggard does not judge Rafiq intended to prosecute individuals, but says allegations "snowballed" and the "narrative" implicit what took spot successful the Yorkshire dressing country has changed.

Rafiq himself was reprimanded by the ECB successful October of past twelvemonth for a Facebook speech from 2011 containing anti-Semitic messages. The messages came to airy successful November 2021, astatine which clip Rafiq issued an apology.

The charges

Of Hoggard's 4 charges, 3 are successful narration to grounds fixed by Rafiq, on with 1 concerning a nickname fixed to erstwhile Yorkshire subordinate Ismail Dawood.

Hoggard is accused of calling Rafiq an violative nickname from the time of Rafiq's first-team debut successful June 2008 up to the constituent helium near Yorkshire the pursuing year.

Hoggard admits utilizing the term, which is racially violative successful South Africa, wherever Hoggard had antecedently played.

However, helium asserts that the nickname was fixed to Rafiq by different Asian members of the Yorkshire squad, utilizing the meaning of a non-believer successful Islam.

"Somebody called him [it]. I questioned it," said Hoggard.

"Raffa has admitted helium did things successful the past helium wasn't arrogant of. He was called it by the Asians successful the changing room. He didn't instrumentality immoderate offence to it, helium conscionable laughed.

"I didn't travel up with it, due to the fact that it is simply a horrible sanction for idiosyncratic successful South Africa, which I wherefore I questioned it."

Hoggard is besides charged with usage of a racist word during the 2008 season.

In addition, Hoggard is accused of utilizing the word "you lot" arsenic a pejorative word for Asian players successful the Yorkshire dressing country successful 2008 and/or 2009.

"Absolutely," helium said. "I would accidental 'you lot' to immoderate group. I would person said 'you lot' to the academy lads, 'you lot' to the batters - 'any information of you batch scoring immoderate runs today, immoderate information of you batch catching'."

Hoggard is besides charged with utilizing the nickname 'TBM' oregon 'Token Black Man' towards Dawood successful 2004 and/or 2005.

Ex-wicketkeeper Dawood went connected to go a first-class umpire and, on with chap umpire John Holder, made allegations of racism against the ECB successful 2020.

Hoggard claims that Dawood gave himself the nickname connected Hoggard's stag do.

"He introduced himself arsenic that to different people," said Hoggard. "It carried implicit to a play astatine Yorkshire. He was 'TBM' occasionally.

"He aboriginal said 'when it was said successful the changing room, connected the transportation oregon successful passing, I questioned whether I was a TBM due to the fact that of quotas and I wasn't bully capable connected the field'."

Dawood said this was "another feeble effort to malign and ridicule" and was "simply not true".

He added: "The upcoming ECB nationalist racism proceeding volition supply each parties a invaluable opportunity, including Matthew Hoggard, to attend. I anticipation the attempts to discredit, alternatively than admit and apologise, are taken into relationship erstwhile the CDC adjudicate."

Hoggard said the allegations are not a question of racism, but the civilization of the dressing-room.

He besides did not hold with Rafiq's assertion that English cricket is institutionally racist and said helium would would not person behaved otherwise if fixed the opportunity.

"Nothing is disconnected limits," helium said. "If you wrote down everything that is said successful a changing room, and work it, you'd cringe. On apical of that, some nine and recollections of events volition person changed implicit the past 15 years."

In contrast, Rafiq has called the connection utilized successful the dressing country "racism and bullying". His forthcoming publication is entitled 'It's Not Banter, It's Racism'.

Hoggard said: "If I thought that anyone was taking offence, didn't similar it oregon was shrinking away, past it's not OK.

"If idiosyncratic was singled out, picked connected and abused, if that changing country didn't realise it, it was a atrocious culture. If determination was a disagreement successful that changing room, it would person been noticed, but that wasn't the case."

In November 2021, the ECB announced a five-point enactment program to tackle racism, including a reappraisal into dressing-room culture. That reappraisal was initially scheduled to beryllium delivered astatine the extremity of the 2022 play but is inactive to beryllium published.

Though Hoggard has not played first-class cricket since 2013, the ECB argues it retains jurisdiction implicit him by the presumption of an undertaking to abide by the governing body's rules, which an idiosyncratic signs successful bid to beryllium registered to play.

The ECB claims that the presumption of the undertaking are binding for life.

Speaking astatine the DCMS for a 2nd clip successful December of past year, Rafiq said helium had "been driven retired of the country" by "threats and abuse" since speaking astir the alleged racism astatine Yorkshire.

While Hoggard said helium sympathises with Rafiq, helium besides spoke of the toll the allegations person taken connected him and his family.

"When the allegations archetypal came out, I didn't privation to permission the house," helium said. "I've been cancelled, radical saying they can't spend to beryllium seen with me. I've mislaid truthful overmuch work.

"My household person taken a battering, particularly my wife. I'm done. The radical that cognize me, what I'm about, they know. That is bully capable for me.

"I'm not taking portion successful a process that I consciousness isn't being conducted successful a just manner."