Yorkshire CCC head coach Andrew Gale suspended over racial abuse allegations on Twitter

Yorkshire CCC's head coach, Andrew Gale, has been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing following a historic tweet, the County Cricket Club announced on Tuesday. The club has also announced that the director of cricket, Martyn Moxon, has been signed off from work due to a stress-related illness.

Andre Gale historic tweet: What did Andrew Gale tweet?

Andrew last week told ‘Jewish News’ to have used an anti-Semitic slur in a historic Twitter conversation. Then club captain added he was “completely unaware” of the offensive nature of the term which he used in the subsequently deleted tweet after the newspaper reported the story.

A statement from the club read: “We can confirm that Andrew Gale, Yorkshire First XI Coach, is currently suspended pending a disciplinary hearing following an historic tweet. The Club will make a further statement once this process has been completed.”

Meanwhile, Moxon is currently absent from Headingley. “Director of cricket Martyn Moxon is, as of today (November 9), absent from work due to a stress-related illness. He will be given the necessary support,” a club statement added. 

The Yorkshire CCC has already been in the news recently for all wrong reasons. Azeem Rafiq, who is an English cricketer of Pakistan descent, had accused the cricket club as well as his former Yorkshire teammates of racism. Several high-profile figures including the 2005 Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan, have been drawn into the debate. 

Azeem Rafiq had first made the allegations of racism against the club and his former teammates in 2018. However, Yorkshire only acknowledged that a formal inquiry into the matter has been launched in September 2020, after Rafiq went to the press. Earlier this year, Yorkshire released its report and admitted that Rafiq was subjected to racism on several occasions. But on October 28, Yorkshire issued a statement where it refused to accept the report of its internal panel and said, "There is no conduct or action taken by any of its employees, players or Executives that warrants disciplinary action." 

The statement caused massive uproar, forcing the ECB to step in and suspend the club from hosting international matches until it can "meet the standards expected of an international venue, ECB member and First Class County."

"It is clear to the Board that YCCC’s handling of the issues raised by Azeem Rafiq is wholly unacceptable and is causing serious damage to the reputation of the game. The ECB find this matter abhorrent and against the spirit of cricket and its values. There is no place for racism or any form of discrimination in cricket and where it is found, swift action must be taken. This matter must be dealt with robustly if the sport is to demonstrate its commitment to truly being a game for everyone," the ECB said in a statement.

(With ANI Inputs)