Yorkshire league chairman resigns in wake of Azeem Rafiq comments
Sep 27, 2020
Yorkshire [UK], September 27 : The chairman of the Yorkshire South Premier League Roger Pugh has resigned from his position less than a month after criticising Azeem Rafiq in a blog.
According to the ESPNcricinfo report, Pugh responded to Rafiq's allegations of institutional racism at Yorkshire, which left him on the brink of suicide, by labelling the former player as "discourteous and disrespectful" in his chairman's blog dated September 3.
While Pugh's resignation statement made no mention of the incident - and offered no apology - the timing is unlikely to be coincidental. Pugh declined to elaborate on his decision when contacted for comment by ESPNcricinfo.
"It is with great regret and a heavy heart that I have decided to stand down as chairman of the Yorkshire South Premier League, with immediate effect," Pugh wrote in a statement, adding that he intended to continue helping the league in a volunteer capacity.
Earlier, Yorkshire had appointed a sub-committee to investigate the allegations of racism made by former England U-19 spinner Rafiq referring to his time with the side.
Rafiq had claimed that during his stint with county club Yorkshire he thought of killing himself due to alleged racism.
"I know how close I was to committing suicide during my time at Yorkshire. I was living my family's dream as a professional cricketer, but inside I was dying. I was dreading going to work. I was in pain every day," Rafiq had said.
