Azeem Rafiq today met Holocaust survivor Ruth Barnett at the Jewish Museum London a week after he apologised for posting historical anti-Semitic messages on Facebook.
The 30-year-old cricketer-turned-whistleblower sat with Ms Barnett, a first generation survivor of the Holocaust who described how the anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws which stripped her of German citizenship altered the course of her life.
Born in Berlin in 1935, Ms Barnett fled Germany and arrived in Britain on the Kindertransport in 1939 – the organised rescue effort that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of World War Two. Later in life, she gave talks about her own experiences and the origins of other genocides.
Rafiq was then given a tour of the museum and was shown artefacts from the Holocaust including a yellow star, before Steve Silverman from the Campaign Against Antisemitism group explained to him the origins of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories including the link made between Jewish people and money.
It comes after Rafiq was forced to confront his own shortcomings after historical anti-Semitic messages on Facebook resurfaced last week, following his shocking testimony to MPs in which he alleged cricket is ‘institutionally racist’.
In messages to former Warwickshire and Leicestershire player Ateeq Javid, Rafiq, then 19, had accused Atif Sheikh, an Asian cricketer who was playing for Derbyshire, of not paying a dinner bill because ‘he is a Jew’.
‘Hahaha he is a Jew. Probs go after my 2nds again,’ he wrote on Facebook, before adding: ‘How wrong is that? Only Jews do that sort of s***’.
In a statement to MailOnline, Rafiq said: ‘I spoke to Atif today and apologised to him for what I said. He was very understanding. I told I’m I was incredibly sorry as I am to all those who may have been offended. I spoke to Atif on the phone and he accepted my apology.’
The former Yorkshire spin bowler had rocked the world of sport with allegations of racism in cricket at a damning parliamentary session.
Azeem Rafiq today met Holocaust survivor Ruth Barnett at the Jewish Museum London. The 30-year-old cricketer-turned-whistleblower sat with Ms Barnett, a first generation survivor of the Holocaust who described how the anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws which stripped her of German citizenship altered the course of her life
Left: The exchange appears to show Rafiq, then 19, and Javid making offensive remarks about an unidentified Asian cricketer in 2011 who they accused of not paying a dinner bill because ‘he is a Jew’. Right: In a statement on Twitter, Rafiq apologised for his past remarks, saying he has deleted the exchange and that he is a ‘different person today’
Rafiq (pictured) fought back tears as MPs heard bombshell allegations of institutional racism at the heart of the English game
MailOnline can reveal that Rafiq and Javid made the offensive remarks about cricketer Atif Sheikh
In shocking testimony, Rafiq broke down in tears as he told MPs that racism had destroyed his career and pointed the finger at Tim Bresnan, Matthew Hoggard, Alex Hales, Gary Ballance and David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd.
He also claimed the word P*** was ‘used constantly’ during his time at Yorkshire CCC as he gave explosive testimony to MPs.
In one shocking claim, Rafiq gave a harrowing account of having red wine forced down his throat by older players at his local team when he was 15 and a devout Muslim – before he drank more heavily from 2012 ‘to try to fit in’.
Reacting to Rafiq’s anti-Semitic slurs, Board of Deputies of British Jews President Marie van der Zyl said: ‘Azeem Rafiq has suffered terribly at the hands of racists in cricket so he will well understand the hurt this exchange will cause to Jews who have supported him.
‘His apology certainly seems heartfelt and we have no reason to believe he is not completely sincere.’
Claudia Mendoza, co-chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, added: ‘There’s no doubt that this is massively awkward for Azeem Rafiq but he’s taken full ownership, apologised, and undoubtedly – through his own experiences – learnt a lot about racism since then.’
In a statement on Twitter, Rafiq apologised for his past remarks, saying he has deleted the exchange and that he is a ‘different person today’.
He said: ‘I was sent an image of this exchange from early 2011 today. I have gone back to check my account and it is me. I have absolutely no excuses. I am ashamed of this exchange and have now deleted it so as not to cause further offence.
‘I was 19 at the time and I hope and believe I am a different person today. I am incredibly angry at myself and I apologise to the Jewish community and everyone who is rightly offended by this.’
In a later post, he added: ‘At no point will I ever try and defend the indefensible. For those I have hurt I am sincerely sorry. I will continue to front up and own any more mistakes I have made.’
Rafiq claimed when he first joined Yorkshire he and other Asian players were told they had to ‘sit near the toilets’ and were called ‘elephant washers’. He also launched another broadside at former teammate Ballance, saying it was an open secret in the England dressing room he was racist.
The spin bowler also claimed Alex Hales named his black Dobermann ‘Kevin’ after his friend Ballance used it to refer to black people. And he hit out at current England Test captain Joe Root, claiming the batsman was on the nights out when he was called a ‘P***’.
During the wide-ranging hearing, Rafiq blinked back tears as he opened up about the ‘inhumane’ treatment he received from coaches after his wife had a miscarriage in 2017.
His emotional testimony had to be brought to an abrupt halt by DCMS chair Julian Knight and adjourned for five minutes so the cricketer could recompose himself.
The spin bowler also warned that ‘hundreds and thousands’ of cricketers could now come forward with their own racism claims – claiming there will be an opening of the ‘floodgates’ where victims of alleged abuse fight back.
In a devastating 90-minute testimony to a Commons committee, Rafiq recalled his ‘inhuman’ treatment at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and accused senior players of racist bullying.
The 30-year-old said the word ‘P***’ was ‘used constantly’ in his time on the Yorkshire first team – and that racism continues to be rife in county teams across the country.
At one point the hearing had to be halted as Rafiq broke down in tears describing his treatment after he lost his unborn child, with a senior official ‘ripping the shreds’ off him instead of offering support.
The cricketer was giving evidence to MPs after a report earlier this year found he was a victim of ‘racial harassment and bullying’ but the club said they would not discipline anyone. The remarks have also been dismissed by other players as ‘banter’.
In his highly emotional account Rafiq said he had lost his career to racism after making an official complaint about bullying, but hoped that by speaking out he could change the game.
He told how, aged 15 and a practising Muslim, he was ‘pinned down’ and had red wine poured down his throat by a senior player at his local cricket club.
And he said racism had seeped into the England dressing room, where it was an ‘open secret’ that Ballance used the word ‘Kevin’ as a derogatory word for black and Asian players, an allegation Ballance has denied.
He added that England batsman Alex Hales allegedly named his dog Kevin because it was black. Hales strongly denied the claims in a statement.
Rafiq also criticised other players not directly involved in racist behaviour for failing to recognise the damaging culture and doing nothing to stamp it out.
They included England test captain Joe Root – described by Rafiq as ‘a good man’ – who was present when racist slurs were made.
He said problems began with Yorkshire CCC’s hierarchy when he was labelled a troublemaker for complaining about bullying by a teammate. It came to a head in his treatment by cricket director Martyn Moxon during his wife’s difficult pregnancy, which ended in the unborn child dying.
Choking back tears, the father of two said: ‘My first day back after losing my son Martyn Moxon literally got me in a room and ripped the shreds off me. I’ve never seen him speak to anyone like that through my time at the club and I couldn’t believe it.’
Decision-makers are braced for a testing day on Friday, as the England and Wales Cricket Board takes part in a game-wide meeting at The Oval.
The governing body’s handling of the ongoing racism crisis, set in train by Rafiq’s allegations against Yorkshire but seemingly spreading wider by the day, is likely to attract major criticism.
The chairs of the 18 first-class counties will meet, joined by representatives of the 21 non-first class cricket boards, the national counties cricket association and the MCC, and it is understood there is some disquiet about the glacial pace and hands-off manner the scandal has been dealt with.
ECB chief executive Tom Harrison is also expected to come under fire from some in attendance, following his unheralded appearance in front of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee shortly after Rafiq.
With the ECB already operating under an interim chair, Barry O’Brien, due to Ian Watmore’s recent departure, Harrison will be hoping he can restore confidence in his leadership of a game which has been in a near constant state of emergency since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
Cricket governance also remains on the agenda at Westminster, with sports minister Nigel Huddleston raising the prospect of an independent regulator should the current ECB regime fail to deliver on the issue of racism.
Speaking to the DCMS select committee which had interviewed both Rafiq and Harrison, he said: ‘With cricket, I’d say the clock’s ticking on this, we might well go down that route as well.
‘We’ve had very frank conversations with ECB and others involved in cricket over the last couple of weeks. I have had reassurance that they take the issue seriously and will act.
‘Tom Harrison has promised me that with every fibre of his being he will take action here. He knows he needs to act quickly. We will judge them on their deeds and not their words, and if they fail to act appropriately we will not hesitate to intervene further.’
Rafiq mentioned Lloyd during his evidence to MPs as an example of the ‘denial, briefings, cover-up, smearing’ that he alleged took place after he went public with his racism complaints against Yorkshire.
He said: ‘High-profile media people messaging other members of the media who supported me saying stuff like, ‘The club houses are the life blood of a club and Asian players don’t go in there’, ‘Getting subs out of Asian players is like getting blood out of stone’.
Rafiq of Yorkshire bowls during the NatWest T20 Blast Semi Final against Durham at Edgbaston in 2016
Sky cricket pundit David Lloyd has apologised after being named by Azeem Rafiq amid cricket’s racism storm
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tom Harrison (left) was among those called to give evidence before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee. Right: Former Yorkshire County Cricket Club chairman Roger Hutton was grilled by MPs for his role at Yorkshire before he quit
Rafiq claimed fellow England international star Alex Hales used the word Kevin for his dog (pictured together in an Instagram post on the athlete’s Instagram) after his friend Ballance coined it for black people
Gary Ballance (pictured playing for England against South Africa in July 2017) is among the cricket stars accused of being racist between 2008 and 2018 by Rafiq
‘And then personally this guy is talking about my personal drinking, going out and socialising. That was David Lloyd.’
Rafiq also told the DCMS: ‘Pretty early on at the club, I joined a dressing room full of my heroes, Michael Vaughan, Matthew Hoggard, part of the 2005 Ashes team. And it was just the most surreal moment for me.
‘Pretty early on, me and other people from an Asian background…there were comments such as ‘you’ll sit over there near the toilets’, ‘elephant washers’.
‘The word P*** was used constantly. And there just seemed to be an acceptance in the institution from the leaders and no one ever stamped it out.’
Rafiq added: ‘All I wanted to do is play cricket and play for England and live my dream and live my family’s dream.’
He added: ‘In my first spell, I don’t really think I quite realised what it was. I think I was in denial.’
He said he started medication due to his deteriorating mental health and left Yorkshire for the first time in 2014.
When he returned he initially felt settled under captain Alex Lees and coach Jason Gillespie.
‘Jason left in 2016 and it just felt the temperature in the room had been turned up,’ Rafiq said. ‘You had Andrew Gale coming in as coach and Gary Ballance as captain.
‘For the first time I started to see for what it was – I felt isolated, humiliated at times. Constant use of the word ‘P***’.’
Rafiq said on a 2017 pre-season tour Ballance had racially abused him.
‘We were in a place and Gary Ballance walks over and goes, ‘Why are you talking to him?
‘You know he’s a P***’. This happened in front of team-mates. It happened in front of coaching staff.’
Former England batter Ballance admitted using a ‘racial slur’ towards Rafiq in a lengthy statement this month, apologising but framing it as part of their friendship.
Rafiq told the committee that was not an accurate depiction of their relationship, saying it went downhill from 2013 onwards and had become toxic by 2017.
Asked by chair Mr Knight about the term ‘Kevin’, he said it was an offensive, racist term that reached the very top of the game.
‘Kevin was a something Gary used to describe anyone of colour in a very derogatory manner. It was an open secret in the England dressing room,’ he said.
‘Anyone who came across Gary would know that was a phrase he would use to describe people of colour.’
Rafiq also alleged former England batter Alex Hales was involved, saying: ‘Gary and Alex Hales got really close to each other when they played for England together.
‘I wasn’t present in that dressing room, but what I understand (is) that Alex went on to name his dog ‘Kevin’ because it was black. It’s disgusting how much of a joke it was.’
Rafiq, who is a Muslim, also described his harrowing first experience of alcohol at the age of 15. ‘I got pinned down at my local cricket club and had red wine poured down my throat, literally down my throat,’ he said.
‘The player played for Yorkshire and Hampshire. I (then) didn’t touch alcohol until about 2012 and around that time I felt I had to do that to fit in.
‘I wasn’t perfect, there are things I did which I felt I had to do to achieve my dreams. I deeply regret that but it has nothing to do with racism.
‘When I spoke I should have been listened to. The game as a whole has a problem, with listening to the victim. There is no ‘yeah, but’ with racism; there is no ‘two sides’ to racism.’
Rafiq said the problem at Yorkshire was replicated ‘up and down the country’.
Asked about the fact others, such as former Essex and Northamptonshire player Maurice Chambers, had now spoken out, Rafiq said: ‘I would like to see it as progress that people are feeling like they can come forward and they are going to be heard and not just be discredited, smeared about, briefed about.’
He described England and Wales Cricket Board initiatives on diversity as ‘box-ticking’ exercises and ‘tokenism’. He said former England coach David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd had talked about Rafiq’s drinking.
Rafiq hit out at England Test captain Joe Root (left), claiming he was on those nights out where he was called a ‘P***’. But he later said Root was a good man. He claimed fellow international star Hales (right) named his black dog Kevin after Ballance often used it as a term for black people
Rafiq also made claims over Tim Bresnan’s (left) behaviour at the club, saying he was among ‘six or seven’ players to have made a bullying complaint against the star in 2017. Rafiq said Matthew Hoggard (right) had apologised to him after watching him being interviewed about his experience at Yorkshire
Former England captain Michael Vaughan (pictured in 2018) has categorically denied the claims made by Rafiq against him and issued a statement in which he described the accusations as ‘extremely upsetting’
He added: ‘He’d been an England coach and commentator and I found it disturbing, because Sky is supposedly doing this amazing work on bringing racism to the front and within a week of me speaking out, that’s what I got sent to me and I thought, ‘God, there are some closet racists and I need to do something about it’.’
Rafiq added: ‘I think with four or five months left on my contract, I was encouraged to sign a confidentiality form and take a parcel of money which I refused.
‘At that time it would have been a lot of money for me. I think my wife was struggling. I knew I was struggling.
‘There was no way mentally I could have even considered putting myself through this trauma. I actually left the country. I went to Pakistan. I never wanted to come back.’
Asked how he had summoned the strength to come forward, Rafiq added: ‘I had an interview about my new business. I got asked a question. And I got emotional. I said everything.
‘Even at that point, I genuinely thought that there might be some humanity left in some of these individuals. But no. They thought, ‘He hasn’t talked about Yorkshire’.
‘It was all about ‘discredit, discredit, discredit’. I don’t know how I’ve done it. This last 14 months has been incredibly difficult.’ The committee took a break as Rafiq became visibly emotional.
After the committee took a break as Rafiq became visibly emotional, Rafiq said he found it ‘hurtful’ England captain Root said he had never witnessed anything of a racist nature at Yorkshire.
‘Rooty is a good man. He never engaged in racist language,’ Rafiq said.
‘I found it hurtful because Rooty was Gary (Ballance)’s housemate and had been involved in a lot of the socialising where I was called a ‘P***’.
‘It shows how normal it was that even a good man like him doesn’t see it for what it was. It’s not going to affect Joe, but it’s something I remember every day.’