Inside Yorkshire crisis as Mike Ashley deal jeopardised by IPL takeover bid
In 1983, Yorkshire, the most successful domestic cricket club of them all, finished bottom of the County Championship.
It was a divisive time for the club. Legendary batsman Geoffrey Boycott wasn't offered a new contract in the October of that year - a decision that was soon overturned following a protest by the members - while the club were refusing to sign any players born outside of the county due to an archaic rule that was eventually scrapped in 1992.
Most critics assumed 1983 was Yorkshire's annus horribilis... but the situation is even worse 40 years on. The 33-time champions of England are facing financial ruin following the racism scandal involving Azeem Rafiq and could be forced to accept huge investment from the Indian Premier League (IPL) or Mike Ashley, Newcastle's deeply unpopular ex-owner.
Here is the story of how Yorkshire found themselves in a complete mess...
Yorkshire were first made aware of complaints of racism in August 2018. That was when Rafiq, the team's off-spinner, formally informed club chiefs about the abuse he alleged to have received from several colleagues.
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The claims made by Rafiq were horrifying. He and other Muslims at Yorkshire were allegedly called "elephant washers" while the P-word and other slurs were used by senior players.
Yet Yorkshire took no disciplinary action. Rafiq, meanwhile, was released at the end of that season. He was later asked by a Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) select committee whether he thought racism ended his career. "Yes," came his reply.
For a while, Yorkshire seemed to brush Rafiq's complaints under the Headingley pitch. Yet everything changed when Rafiq spoke to Wisden Cricket Monthly in August 2020 and highlighted some of the racist abuse he received during his career.
From there, the story snowballed. Yorkshire responded by investigating Rafiq's claims, yet it took them around a year to publish their findings. The club apologised to their ex-player for "inappropriate behaviour" but refused to admit to institutional racism.
Yorkshire also failed to take any disciplinary action against senior players, employees or executives, despite admitting the P-word was used and upholding a number of Rafiq's complaints. The cricketing world was staggered by Yorkshire's apparent reluctance to act.
Yorkshire tried to ignore Azeem Rafiq's allegations of racism (PA)What do you make of Yorkshire's crisis? Let us know in the comments below!
The DCMS invited Rafiq to speak at a select committee. Thanks to parliamentary privilege, he was allowed to reveal the full extent of the appalling abuse he received.
He said: "I got pinned down at my local cricket club and had red wine poured down my throat... 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."
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) responded by suspending Yorkshire from hosting international cricket - a ban that was later lifted - and many sponsors pulled out. That sent the club into financial chaos... and the problems didn't stop there.
When Yorkshire finally took action, sacking several members of staff, many of them - including ex-coach Andrew Gale - won unfair dismissal claims against the club. That led to them losing around £2million.
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Yorkshire also agreed a financial settlement with Rafiq - thought to be a six-figure sum - and they were fined £400,000 by the ECB for their handling of the scandal. As reported earlier this year, that has left the club facing administration.
A number of solutions have been mooted. One such was the return of former chair Colin Graves, with the club still owing his trust millions of pounds. The idea of Graves returning has left many fans furious, given his involvement during Rafiq's time at the club.
Mike Ashley is interested in buying Headingley (PA)Graves insisted "nothing was ever brought up on the table about any racism allegations whatsoever" earlier this year. He has since withdrawn his interest in returning to the club.
Another possible solution is selling Headingley to Ashley for £22m. As reported by The Telegraph, the controversial former Newcastle owner is in talks to buy the famous ground. That deal could see Headingley renamed after one of Ashley's companies and used for things other than cricket.
The Daily Mail, meanwhile, claim IPL giants Rajasthan Royals want to complete a £25m takeover of Yorkshire - taking complete control and ending its 160-year status as a members club. The ECB are keen to attract overseas investment into English cricket, particularly into its eight Hundred franchises.
Yorkshire are major stakeholders in the Northern Superchargers, who play their games at Headingley, and the Royals' purchase of the White Rose county would see a cut-price route into Hundred ownership.
There's also the possibility of investment from Saudi Arabia, as well as more loans.
This financial chaos has resulted in a poor season on the pitch. Yorkshire, who were relegated from Division One of the County Championship last year, are currently bottom of Division Two, owing to a 48-point deduction as part of the sanctions as a result of the racism scandal. They also failed to go past the group stages of the One-Day Cup and T20 Blast.
After failing to take Rafiq's allegations seriously and allowing institutional racism to exist, Yorkshire have fallen into financial ruin. It seems inevitable they will need to do something significant to be pulled out of this mess. Forget the 80s, Yorkshire's lowest ebb is now.
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