(AFP): Chairman of Essex County Cricket Club John Faragher has resigned following an allegation that he used racist language at a board meeting in 2017.
John Faragher, who strongly denies the incident took place, stepped down on Thursday evening, and Essex will now review why the matter was not fully and independently investigated at the time.
“There is no place for discrimination of any kind at Essex County Cricket Club,” said John Stephenson – the former Essex and England cricketer who recently took over as the club’s chief executive.
“This is a proud club with a zero-tolerance policy towards racism and any form of discrimination and, as Essex Cricket’s new chief executive officer, I will not hesitate to uphold those principles and drive out any form of discrimination that is uncovered,” he added.
It comes during a racism row that has engulfed rival county side Yorkshire. Former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq was found by an independent report to have been subject to “racial harassment and bullying”, with the Headingley-based club’s chairman and chief executive resigning in the ensuing fall-out.
England captain Joe Root, who has spent all of his club career at Yorkshire, demanded change on Thursday, saying events at Headingley had “fractured our game and torn lives apart”. An England and Cricket Board spokesman said,”There is absolutely no place for racism or any form of discrimination in our game.
“The England and Wales Cricket Board opened an investigation into Essex County Cricket Club after receiving an allegation involving John Faragher, who has subsequently resigned as the club chair. The ECB is taking this allegation extremely seriously,” he added.
