Former England cricket skipper Michael Vaughan has apologised "for the hurt" that whistleblower Azeem Rafiq experienced but helium again denied making racist comments portion astatine region nine Yorkshire.
Rafiq's revelations astir the racism and bullying helium suffered astatine Yorkshire has sparked a situation successful the English game, and his accusation astir Vaughan prompted the BBC to driblet the erstwhile planetary from its sum of the upcoming Ashes bid against Australia.
Vaughan and Rafiq were teammates Yorkshire — England's astir palmy cricket nine — erstwhile Vaughan allegedly told a radical of players of Asian ethnicity successful 2009: "There are excessively galore of you lot; we request to bash thing astir it."
In a BBC interrogation shown this morning, Vaughan was asked if helium ever made immoderate racist comments during his clip astatine Yorkshire. He replied: "No I didn't, no."
Rafiq, a erstwhile England under-19 captain, precocious testified astatine a parliamentary proceeding astir the racism helium suffered portion playing astatine Yorkshire, describing "inhuman" treatment, with Vaughan and others implicated successful the case.
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"I'm atrocious for the wounded that he's gone through," Vaughan told the BBC. "Time, I don't think, tin ever beryllium a healer successful the concern that he's gone through. But hopefully clip tin beryllium a mode of america making definite that Yorkshire County Cricket Club ne'er goes done this concern again and ne'er puts themselves successful a presumption of denial that they treated a subordinate truthful badly.
"It hurts deeply," helium continued, "hurts maine that a subordinate has gone done truthful overmuch (and) beryllium treated truthful severely astatine the nine that I love. I person to instrumentality immoderate work for that due to the fact that I played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club for 18 years and if successful immoderate mode signifier oregon signifier I'm liable for immoderate of his hurt, I apologise for that."
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The England and Wales Cricket Board connected Friday released its broad program to code issues raised by Rafiq. It includes the instauration of an anti-discrimination portion and a reappraisal of dressing-room culture.
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Rafiq's accusation astir Vaughan was supported by erstwhile Pakistan bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and England leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who said they heard the comment.
Vaughan besides apologised for a bid of violative historical tweets, including 1 questioning the deficiency of English speakers successful London and different suggesting that England spinner Moeen Ali should inquire random Muslims if they are terrorists.
"I apologise profoundly to anyone that I've offended with those tweets," Vaughan said. "Times person moved connected and I regret those tweets. We each marque mistakes and successful my beingness I've made rather a fewer mistakes connected Twitter. I apologise for that."
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