Yorkshire racism scandal: Colin Graves says calling Azeem Rafiq to apologise did not feel 'appropriate at the time'

Yorkshire chairman Colin Graves told a select committee he did not personally apologise to Azeem Rafiq for the racist abuse he suffered because he "had plenty of things going on" and "didn't feel that was appropriate".

Rafiq spoke out in 2020 about the abuse he suffered while playing for the club.

Yorkshire were fined for their handling of the scandal, which partly occurred during Graves' first spell as chairman.

Graves did apologise to Rafiq during the committee session on Tuesday.

Yorkshire were punished last year for failing to address the systemic use of discriminatory or racist language following allegations made by Rafiq. A number of the accusations dated back to the period of Graves' first spell in charge at Headingley, which ran from 2012 to 2015.

In January, Graves "personally and unreservedly" apologised for the racism scandal, prior to being re-elected for a second spell as chairman after a successful takeover bid in February.

Graves told the committee he had not spoken to Rafiq personally but would do so if he "had the opportunity" because "he should not have experienced what he experienced".

Asked by SNP shadow culture secretary John Nicolson why he had not phoned Rafiq to say sorry, Graves said: "I didn't feel that was appropriate at the time. I've apologised today to Mr Rafiq and anybody else who experienced any discrimination or racism."

Asked by Nicolson why he had not felt it was appropriate, Graves added: "I just have plenty of things going on around not to pick up the phone to Mr Rafiq."

Nicolson then asked whether that meant he was "too busy" to call, to which Graves replied: "No, I did not say I was too busy."

Graves' response was later criticised by Nicolson in a social media post, external, which said: "You can see why people think English cricket still has a problem."

Graves previously denied knowledge of any racist behaviour during his time at the club but was criticised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) last year after suggesting some incidents were "banter".

The 76-year-old reiterated to the committee an apology for using that term, saying he did not "realise the insensitivity of that word" and using it was "a bad judgement on my part".

Former Yorkshire player Rafiq said English cricket was "institutionally racist", and racist language was used "constantly" at the club.

It led to investigations by the club and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and six former Yorkshire players being sanctioned with fines and, in some cases, bans by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC).

Graves did not rule out the possibility of any members of staff returning who had been at the club during the period when Rafiq suffered abuse.

"It has not been discussed by the board," he added. "We've got our first board meeting on Monday. I'm sure regarding the future, the structure, everything will be discussed, but at this point in time it has not been discussed."