'I still don't know why my career was cut short' - Umpire Ismail Dawood accuses ECB of practicing institutionalised discrimination

Former umpires Ismail Dawood and John Holder have made some serious claims of practicing institutionalised racism and favoritism against the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The former cricketers have decided to sue the England board and alleged that the authorities haven’t appointed a non-white full-time umpire for as many as the last 28 years.

The former wicketkeeper-batsman Dawood, who represented four counties during an 11-year playing career, reckoned that he was promised a promotion by the authorities verbally for as many as six times but he never got one as he was always overlooked in front of the English umpires despite having a sound record under his belt.

“I was told I was going to get promoted one year in an appraisal, it was verbal. It didn’t transpire. On six different occasions, I was superseded in terms of getting a promotion. My reports and statistical data by various different people who do the reports were all of a sound manner and I wasn’t given the opportunities to gain promotion, which of course I felt aggrieved about,” Dawood told Sky Sports.

Further, the former umpire asserted that he doesn’t know why his career was cut short as he was doing everything right. Ismail claimed suffering from bullying, harassment, cronyism, and mental trauma while being a part of the umpiring fraternity in England.

“I still don’t know why my career was cut short. We believe there has been systematic failings within, a type of bullying, harassment and cronyism which I was involved with in terms of the umpiring fraternity, was terrible.

“If it was another organisation, some of the behaviour dished out by management and endorsed by the board was truly unacceptable. I feel really aggrieved in terms of how I was treated, it left me very isolated,” the veteran concluded.

We are not aware of the detail of the claim from Ismail Dawood and John Holder: ECB

A spokesperson of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) clarified that the organization doesn’t have details about the sufferings and claims made by Ismail Dawood and John Holder. Thus, they would like to investigate the matter before making any comment. The person also claimed that ECB is working towards providing a safe working environment for all the people involved irrespective of their caste and colour.

“We are not aware of the detail of the claim from Ismail Dawood and John Holder and are therefore unable to comment upon it. The ECB is absolutely committed to ensuring there is no place for discrimination, of any kind, in our sport. As with all areas of our game, we want our match officials to represent and reflect everyone who supports and plays cricket.

“Therefore, in November we announced that we would re-evaluate the way in which we attract, develop and perform management of our match officials, in order to increase the diversity of our officiating, inspire the next generation of umpires and match referees and ensure a culture of inclusivity and fairness throughout.

“Aligned with this process, we have been arranging to meet with Ismail Dawood, John Holder and others to listen to their experiences so as to better inform our future approach to recruiting and developing umpires and match officials,” the ECB spokesperson added.