Azeem Rafiq forced to leave England after facing abuse and intimidation following Yorkshire racism backlash: Report

Azeem Rafiq forced to leave England after facing abuse and intimidation following Yorkshire racism backlash: Report

Azeem Rafiq

England’s Azeem Rafiq is considering leaving England after he and his family are facing abuse and intimidation following the Yorkshire racism revelations. He had opened about how his own teammates used racist slurs that made him close to take his own life.

Rafiq’s family moved to England from Pakistan following the murder of his father’s business partner. His father now suffers from a medical condition and needs an oxygen cylinder all the time.

According to the report by ‘Cricketer.com’: “Rafiq has received a series of threats both online and in person in recent times and in one case, captured by CCTV earlier this month, an individual was seen defecating in the garden of the home where his parents live. In another, a masked intruder was seen prowling around the outside of the property,” the report said.

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Azeem Rafiq and Yorkshire racism scandal

Azeem Rafiq
Azeem Rafiq

In 2020, Azeem Rafiq exposed the racist culture of Yorkshire that led to a series of reviews. After its report, Yorkshire Cricket‘s members resigned from the posts.

“From the moment I spoke out about my experiences at YCCC, my family and I have been subjected to threats, attacks and intimidation,” Rafiq wrote on Twitter. Absolutely no individual or their family should be made to feel unsafe and I urge people to respect that,” Rafiq wrote in a tweet earlier this year.

Gary Ballance, who was also accused of using racist slurs, apologised to Rafiq. “I have wanted to meet Azeem in person for quite some time, but I had to make sure I was in a good place when I did so. Azeem has been through similar mental health challenges and understands why this has taken me a little time,” Ballance said in a report in The Cricketer. Rafiq had accepted his apologies, calling Ballance ‘brave’.

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