LONDON (AFP): The British government said Thursday it expected to see “clear and lasting evidence of positive progress” across English cricket after a damaging racism scandal rocked the sport.
Former spin bowler Azeem Rafiq accused Yorkshire of failing to deal adequately with the abuse he suffered while playing for the county side, saying he had been driven to thoughts of suicide.
A committee of lawmakers heard harrowing testimony from the Pakistan-born player in November, plus evidence from senior figures at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the former and current chairmen of Yorkshire.
The parliamentary Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee issued its report in January, saying cricket must root out “deep-seated racism” or face losing public money.
The government made its formal response on Thursday, noting encouraging progress over recent months but calling for “clear and lasting evidence of positive progress across the sport”.
It agreed with the committee’s recommendation that future public funds for the sport should be dependent on “continuous, demonstrable progress in getting rid of racism in both the dressing rooms and on the stands”.
The government said public funding was already “explicitly linked” to the development and implementation of robust diversity and inclusion policies.
It also agreed that the ECB needed to be held to account and transparently report their progress against key indicators, saying the minister for sport had been meeting regularly with the ECB and clubs since November.
“We expect to see evidence of improvements across the sport and delivery on the ECB’s ambition to eradicate racism from cricket,” the government said.
“However if these changes are not made and implemented, the government reserves the right to intervene further.”
Yorkshire will hold an extraordinary general meeting on March 31 to vote on changes to the structure of the board following the racism scandal.
