Former Yorkshire Cricket Club employee reveals Cheteshwar Pujara was racially abused at the club

England county outfit Yorkshire has found itself in the mid of a huge controversy regarding institutionalized racism. In September this year, former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq had accused the club of institutional racism. The former England U19 player had also revealed that he was on the brink of suicide due to the racism he faced in the club.

In the wake of his allegations, Yorkshire launched an investigation and stated that there “must be no repercussions” for any witnesses giving evidence in the investigation of “institutional racism” at the club. And in the recent turn of events, few former employees have backed Rafiq’s claims of racism at the English club.

Former West Indies pacer Tino Best, who played at the club in 2010, and Pakistan’s Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, who joined as an overseas player between 2008 and 2009, recently provided evidence in support of Rafiq as part of an ongoing investigation into his allegations. And the latest individuals to back Rafiq are former Yorkshire employees –  Taj Butt and Tony Bowry.

Cheteshwar Pujara was not spared too

Butt, who was employed within the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation as a community development officer, claimed that the Asian players were called by racist names at the club. Butt, who tendered his resignation within six weeks of joining the club, said that India star Cheteshwar Pujara faced the same treatment.

“(There were) continuous references to taxi drivers and restaurant workers when referring to (the) Asian community. They called every person of colour ‘Steve’. Even Cheteshwar Pujara, who joined as an overseas professional, was called Steve because they could not pronounce his name,” Butt told ESPNcricinfo.

Bowry backed Rafiq’s claims too. His association with the club goes a long way back. He worked as a coach until 1996 before being appointed as the cultural diversity officer at the club until 2011. Following that, he was appointed as a cricket development manager to develop the game for black communities. He revealed how players found it tough to perform due to racism at the club.

“Many youngsters struggled to make progress, and the few that did found the environment of the dressing rooms very difficult and unwelcoming, as a direct result of racism they faced. It affected performance… they were labelled trouble-makers,” he said.