Essex have been accused by the cricket regulator of failing to respond to alleged “systemic” racist language and conduct within the club between 2001 and 2010.
The county were accused of breaching the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) guideline 3.3.
The cricket regulator said in a statement: “ECB Directive 3.3 relates to conduct, acts or omissions which may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket or which may bring the game of cricket or any cricketer or player into disrepute. group of cricket players.
“The Cricket Regulator alleged that there was a systemic use of racist and/or discriminatory language and/or behavior in Essex, during the period between 2001 and 2010, which Essex did not failed to resolve.
“An independent panel of the Cricket Disciplinary Commission will hear the matter in due course.”
Essex said they had fully co-operated with the cricket regulator and would continue to do so, and that they intended to “participate voluntarily” with the Cricket Disciplinary Commission which will hear the matter.
In 2021, Essex commissioned an independent report into allegations of racist comments and behavior made by Jahid Ahmed, Zoheb Sharif and Maurice Chambers, which was carried out by Katharine Newton KC.
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 this was the case. acceptable “jokes”.
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Sky Sports’ James Cole explains how historic allegations of racist abuse in Essex were confirmed by independent report
Essex announced in February that it had sanctioned people in connection with Newton’s findings, but did not give any names.
“While individuals are not named to align with the anonymised report, Essex CCC takes allegations of racism extremely seriously and the measures represent a further commitment to creating an inclusive and welcoming club for all,” it said. then a press release from Essex.
“Essex CCC has shared the measures with the England and Wales Cricket Board and reaffirms its commitment to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion within cricket to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future. “
In July last year, Yorkshire were fined £400,000 – £300,000 suspended for two years – and scored 48 league points and four in the T20 Blast for their handling of discrimination allegations of former player Azeem Rafiq and his failure to address systemic use. of racist and discriminatory remarks over a prolonged period between 2004 and 2021.
