Yorkshire Cricket Club fires all SIXTEEN coaches – including director of cricket Martyn Moxon and head coach Andrew Gale – following Azeem Rafiq’s racism claims
- Yorkshire have culled 16 members of staff in the wake of their racism scandal
- The cricket club have cleared out their staff in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq affair
- Coach Andrew Gale was suspended last month for an offensive historical tweet
- Martyn Moxon, who has been signed off with a stress-related illness, is gone too
Long-serving director of cricket Martyn Moxon and head coach Andrew Gale have left Yorkshire, along with the entire coaching team, in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal.
Moxon had been signed off from work due to a stress-related illness while Gale had been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing since November 9 as the fall-out continues in the wake of the Rafiq investigation.
A statement from Yorkshire read: ‘We can confirm that Martyn Moxon, Director of Cricket, and Andrew Gale, First XI Coach, have left the Club today (3 December), in addition to all members of the coaching team.
‘A new Director of Cricket will be appointed imminently, alongside a new coaching team which is being recruited.’
Yorkshire say the total number of departures is 16, including six members of the backroom medical team provided by Pavilion Physiotherapy Clinic, and that an interim medical team is in the process of being appointed.
Martyn Moxon and Andrew Gale have both left Yorkshire in the wake of the racism scandal
Head coach Gale was suspended last month for an historic offensive tweet, and is now gone
Long-serving director of cricket Moxon had been signed off due to a stress-related illness
Lord Patel, Yorkshire chair, said: ‘Significant change is required at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and we are committed to taking whatever action is necessary to regain trust.
‘The decisions announced today were difficult to make, but are in the best interests of the club. Without making important changes to how we are run, we cannot move on from the past to become a culture which is progressive and inclusive.’
New chairman Lord Patel is leading the shake-up, which began with the resignation of chief executive Mark Arthur last month.
Former England batsman Gary Ballance, though, is set to survive — for now — despite having admitted calling Rafiq a ‘P**i’ on numerous occasions.
The county cricket club are wielding the axe in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism affair
The cull of coaching and medical personnel will leave a huge vacuum at the club which will need to be filled promptly if Yorkshire are to be competitive next season.
In addition to removing individuals who failed to act on Rafiq’s repeated complaints of suffering racial abuse, Yorkshire hope that taking decisive action will help build bridges with the ECB, who have stripped them of international cricket next summer.
As well as wanting to regain one of England’s Tests against New Zealand and a one-day international v South Africa, the club are eager to avoid further punishment from the national governing body — they could relegate them to the second division of the County Championship when the 2022 fixtures are published next month.
Alongside losing international matches, the club have been severely hit by the vast majority of their sponsors cutting ties with them, costing Yorkshire millions of pounds.