“We wholeheartedly believe that cricket should be a sport for everyone”
Yorkshire Tea have announced that they have ended their partnership with Yorkshire Cricket Club after they were accused of “endemic racism.”
Bimey. Yorkshire Cricket Club have lost Yorkshire Tea. https://t.co/Sy5or6IsaF
— Alan White (@aljwhite) November 3, 2021
In a statement on their website, they said: “We were upset to read about the experiences of Azeem Rafiq during his time at Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
“We wholeheartedly believe that cricket should be a sport for everyone, but his experiences and the way the panel report has been handled don’t reflect that.
“Our current partnership with YCCC was naturally coming to an end but we have taken the decision to end it with immediate effect.”
They aren’t the only sponsorship to cut ties, with The Emerald Group, Anchor Butter, David Lloyd Clubs ending their sponsorship whilst Tetley’s beer are considering their position on whether they should continue their deal at the Headingley Stadium.
The accusation comes following the handling of allegations which were raised by Azeem Rafiq who had accused the side of “institutional racism” during his two spells at Yorkshire between 2008 and 2018.
Rafiq reported 43 separate allegations of racism during his time at Yorkshire Cricket Club.
Since Rafiq spoke out a year ago, an independent panel was set up to assess the claims on behalf of the cricket club, which led to an apology given to Rafiq, but no disciplinary action was taken.
As reported on Sky News, chairman of Yorkshire, Roger Hutton was summoned to a parliamentary Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, with Rafiq also expected to attend which is expected to take place on 16 November.
This came as a result of several high profile MP’s including Sajid Javid  who spoke out against their actions whilst former labour leader Ed Miliband and others have wrote to the England and Wales Cricket Board to demand action.
Related links:
- Health Secretary says ‘Heads should roll at Yorkshire County Cricket Club’ amid racism allegations
- Watford investigating homophobic chanting at Southampton game
- England fan jailed over racist rant following Euro 2020 final defeat
