Former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq has received a formal reprimand from the Cricket Discipline Commission for "racist and discriminatory conduct".
The ex-player made antisemitic comments in a 2011 exchange of messages on Facebook with fellow former professional cricketer Ateeq Javid.
The board decided not to impose any additional punishments on Rafiq, noting that he had "immediately apologised publicly in unequivocal terms", and has taken to step to educate himself on antisemitism, making private and public efforts to combat it.
In a statement following today's ruling, Mr Rafiq reiterated his apology, saying that the reprimand is "deserved".
My response to the CDC decision below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/QBAvkVhgG1
— Azeem Rafiq (@AzeemRafiq30) October 10, 2022
In September 2020, Rafiq made accusations of racism and bullying at Yorkshire, and later appeared in front of a parliamentary committee to detail the allegations and his personal experiences of racism.
In 2021, it was revealed by The Times newspaper that in 2011, Mr Rafiq had sent messages to a colleague about a fellow cricketer, Atif Sheikh, in which he criticised him for apparently not paying a dinner bill.
“Hahaha he is a Jew,” the spin bowler wrote. “Only Jews do that sort of sh**.”
When the comments resurfaced, Mr Rafiq issued an unreserved apology, and said that he would take steps to educate himself.
Azeem Rafiq meets Holocaust survivor Ruth Barnett at the Jewish Museum
Azeem Rafiq meeting Holocaust survivor Ruth Barnett at the Jewish Museum
The Cricket Discipline Commission today found that the comments amounted to "racist and discriminatory conduct", and "were plainly prejudicial to the interests of cricket, brought the game and Mr Rafiq into disrepute". Punishments for such a breach can include attendance at education/training programs, a fine of up to £2,000, and an order for the costs of the inquiry.
However, the commission decided that anything more than a formal reprimand would be "inappropriate and unnecessary" given Mr Rafiq's own public apologies, education efforts, and his work with Jewish groups to raise awareness of and combat antisemitism.
In a statement following the ruling, Mr Rafiq said: "This summer, I unequivocally accepted a charge from the ECB regarding my antisemitic social media post from 2011. You will hear no complaint from me about the CDC's decision today. It is deserved and I fully accept this reprimand.
"I want to repeat my apology to the Jewish community. I remain ashamed and embarrassed. I hope I have demonstrated over the past 10-11 months that I am trying to educate myself about the horrors and prejudice the Jewish community has historically - and continues - to face.
"I will keep trying and I thank the Jewish community for the forgiveness and kindness that has been shown to me so far."
Rafiq meets survivor Ruth Barnett
Rafiq meets Holocaust survivor Ruth Barnett
In an interview with the JC in November 2021, Mr Rafiq said: “The circumstances do differ. I don’t think I’ve ever played with anyone Jewish, so it was not exactly the same. But I don’t want to play it down. I’ve hurt people. My genuine feeling is that I deserve the flak. I f***ed up.”
He added: “I’m deeply sorry. I don’t recall making any other antisemitic remarks, but I’ll go back and think about it."
Shortly afterwards, Mr Rafiq had a heart-to-heart with a Holocaust survivor and handled a Nazi-era yellow star at a meeting hosted by the JC, organised to help educate him about British Jewry and the history of persecution, after he blamed his antisemitic comments on a lack of exposure to Jewish people.
Holocaust survivor Ruth Barnett MBE, 86, who came to Britain from Berlin on a Kindertransport train in 1939 at the age of four, told the cricketer: “Humanity seems to need someone to blame and hate. Jews have always been used as the constant scapegoat. Blame the Jews.
“It’s a convenient way to get rid of your own feelings, to dump them on the Jews. But when you actually meet some, it brings you up short.”
Azeem yellow star
Azeem Rafiq holds a nazi-era yellow star while learning about the Holocaust in the Jewish Museum
Mr Rafiq replied: “I just feel that if I had more interaction with Jewish people, I wouldn’t have made those comments. It feels like we just don’t get around the same table together enough. Today I’m learning things I never knew.”
Mr Rafiq also heard from a representative from the Campaign Against Antisemitism who told him about his experiences of antisemitism growing up in Britain, and the same antisemitism his daughter was experiencing.
He also had lunch with Dave Rich of the Community Security Trust (CST), during which they discussed the complexities of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
After Mr Rafiq published his statement today following the Cricket Discipline Board ruling against him, Mr Rich replied: "Azeem, your response has been a model of how to apologise and learn from such episodes. Keep up the good work".
READ MORE: JC brings Azeem Rafiq face-to-face with Holocaust survivor
