Adil Rashid has said he heard Michael Vaughan using racist language at Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
The current England spin bowler claimed the former Test captain made the comments to ‘a group of us Asian players’ in 2009.
His remarks bolster allegations raised by Azeem Rafiq and backed up by Pakistani star Rana Naved-ul-Hasan that Vaughan told them: ‘There are too many of you lot.’
The match the comments were said to have been made at were today revealed to be a T20 match against Nottinghamshire.
Footage shows the players gathered in a huddle before the game chatting and laughing before Vaughan allegedly made the slur.
It comes as the racism row continues to rip through English cricket, with Essex the latest club to be rocked with accusations.
ECB bosses vowed to investigate claims they failed to pursue allegations at the side that were lodged three years ago.
John Faragher resigned as its chairman following a claim he used racist language at a board meeting in 2017.
The spin bowler claimed the former England captain made the comments to ‘a group of us Asian players’ in 2009
His remarks bolster allegations first raised by Azeem Rafiq and backed up by Rana Naved-ul-Hasan that Vaughan (pictured) told them: ‘There are too many of you lot’
It comes as the racism row continues to rip through English cricket, with Essex the latest club to be rocked with accusations. Pictured: Rafiq
The match the comments were said to have been made at were today revealed to be a T20 match against Nottinghamshire (pictured)
Footage shows the players gathered in a huddle before the game chatting and laughing before Vaughan (pictured during the match) allegedly made the slur
Rashid said he has finally spoken out on the alleged incident with Vaughan in a bid to ‘stamp out the cancer’ of racism in professional sport.
He told the Cricketer: ‘I wanted to concentrate as much as possible on my cricket and to avoid distractions to the detriment of the team but I can confirm Azeem Rafiq’s recollection of Michael Vaughan’s comments to a group of us Asian players.
‘I’m encouraged by the fact that a parliamentary committee seems to be trying to improve the situation, whether that’s holding people accountable or getting changes made at an institutional level.
‘These can only be positive developments. I will of course be more than happy to support any official efforts when the time is right.’
Rafiq, who will give evidence to the DCMS select committee tomorrow, claimed Vaughan said in a 2009 County Championship match: ‘There are too many of you lot. We need to do something about it.’
Ex-Pakistan bowler Naved-ul-Hasan said he backed Rafiq’s claim but former seamer Ajmal Shahzad said he did not hear the exchange at which he was present.
Vaughan was stood down from his BBC Radio 5 Live show after saying he was named in the independent report into Yorkshire’s treatment of Rafiq.
But he is still set to commentate on the Ashes this winter after receiving the backing of Australian rights-holders Fox Sports, who will provide the audio to BT Sport.
BBC executives are nervous of siding with Vaughan due to the sensitivity of the allegations against him.
But the 47-year-old has a long-term contract with Fox, who even paid him last winter despite border restrictions preventing him from travelling to Australia.
Vaughan strongly denied the claims against him, releasing a fresh statement this afternoon.
He said: ‘It is extremely upsetting that this completely false accusation has been made against me by a former teammate, apparently supported by two other players. For some time, Ajmal Shazad has been on record as saying that he never heard me say what has been suggested. I have been in contact with the six other players from that team and not one of them has any recollection of the remark being made.
‘I fully accept that perspectives differ, and I have great sympathy for what Azeem Rafiq has gone through, but I hope everyone understands why I cannot allow this to go unchallenged or my reputation to be trashed unfairly.’
Social media users have been split on how to view Vaughan after the claims emerged.
Some dug up old tweets where he appeared to make controversial comments, with one in 2010 saying: ‘Not many English people live in London.. I need to learn a new language.’
But others highlighted comments made in his book which span a positive light on Yorkshire’s first match with four Asian men featuring.
The passage reads: ‘The first match against Nottinghamshire on Monday 22 June was quietly significant because it was the first time that we had four players of Asian heritage featuring for Yorkshire.
‘This is going to be the shape of things to come for Yorkshire, as many of our most promising players come from the Asian community and it ought to be a good thing for our cricket.’
Rafiq kickstarted the racism row by launching a fierce backlash to the conclusion of Yorkshire CCC’s probe into his allegations earlier this year.
The club apologised to him and they later reached a settlement in his employment tribunal to try to put the case to bed.
Gary Ballance and Vaughan revealed they were some of the stars accused of being racist between 2008 and 2018.
But Rafiq has continued to blast the club and accused it of being institutionally racist.
England captain Joe Root referenced the probe on Thursday but said he did not recall racism there, leaving Rafiq to fume on Twitter he was ‘disappointed’.
Meanwhile English cricket bosses have vowed to investigate claims they failed to pursue allegations of racism at Essex that were lodged three years ago.
Faragher resigned as Essex chairman following a claim that he used racist language at a board meeting in 2017.
He stepped down despite strongly denying the incident, but the ECB will now examine suggestions the matter was raised with the governing body in 2018.
Yesterday a Muslim cricketer who used to play for Essex claimed on Saturday that some of his team-mates nicknamed him ‘Bomber’ the day after the 9/11 attacks.
Zoheb Sharif, 38, from Leytonstone, east London, also alleges he was called ‘curry muncher’ in his time at Essex as a teenager.
Sharif, whose parents come from Pakistan, told the Mirror: ‘It was a day after the September 11 attacks.
‘People started calling me Bomber. It was normal to be called ‘curry muncher’. As a Muslim, I’d find a quiet outfield corner to pray. A senior player told me ‘it looks bad’. So I prayed in my car.’
Essex pledged a full review into the allegations, but the ECB could also have further questions to answer.
Michael Vaughan admitted he was named in the Azeem Rafiq report but denied racism claims. It was claimed that he told a group of Yorkshire players with Asian heritage — including Rafiq, Adil Rashid, Ajmal Shahzad and Pakistan ‘s Rana Naved — that there were ‘too many of you lot, we need to do something about it’.
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan (pictueed) says he is willing to give evidence that Mr Vaughan said ‘there’s too many of you lot’, claiming he was next to Mr Rafiq at Trent Bridge in 2009 when Vaughan is alleged to have said it, according to ESPNcricinfo .
Gary Ballance apologised after calling his former team-mate Rafiq a ‘P***’ — an epithet Yorkshire concluded was part of ‘friendly and good-natured banter’.
Muslim former cricketer Zoheb Sharif who used to play for Essex claimed on Saturday that some of his team-mates nicknamed him ‘Bomber’ the day after the September 11 attacks
An ECB spokesman said: ‘There is absolutely no place for racism or any form of discrimination in our game.
‘The England and Wales Cricket Board opened an investigation into Essex County Cricket Club after receiving an allegation involving John Faragher, who has subsequently resigned as the club chair.
‘The ECB is taking this allegation extremely seriously. Alongside our investigation we are looking into concerns that the allegation was initially raised with us in 2018.’
His exit follows Mark Arthur, who resigned from his role as chief executive of Yorkshire on Thursday evening.
The club has already seen ex-chairman Roger Hutton leave and director of cricket Martyn Moxon has been signed off with a ‘stress-related illness’.
First-team coach Andrew Gale is also currently suspended pending an investigation into offensive but unrelated historical tweets.
Essex’s new chief executive John Stephenson said: ‘There is no place for discrimination of any kind at Essex County Cricket Club.
‘This is a proud club with a zero-tolerance policy towards racism and any form of discrimination and, as Essex Cricket’s new chief executive officer, I will not hesitate to uphold those principles and drive out any form of discrimination that is uncovered.’
He added: ‘I am extremely shocked and saddened to hear of historic racial allegations involving a former player, dating back to 2001.’
Stephenson only took over day-to-day running of Essex in October and said he first found out about the alleged incident which involved Faragher this week.
He added: ‘I was made aware of this single allegation on Thursday having joined the club four weeks ago.
‘The board met last night [Thursday] during which John Faragher’s resignation was unanimously accepted by the board.
‘We are committed to working with the England & Wales Cricket Board to eradicate discrimination from the game.
‘This is an important first step, but the club must now act further. Our internal reporting mechanisms will be reviewed to ensure that matters such as this are dealt with appropriately and immediately.’
He added: ‘I intend for those next actions to be communicated as soon as possible.’
The ECB’s investigation was opened after a complaint was initially taken up with the governing body.
This was not the case when Rafiq alleged institutional racism at Yorkshire, with the original complaint being taken up with the county and not the ECB.