Andrew Gale
Andrew Gale was Azeem Rafiq's team-mate at Yorkshire

The England and Wales Cricket Board will not be involved in the case of Andrew Gale, who was charged with racism.

When Azeem Rafiq said discrimination made him feel suicidal, abuse allegations surfaced.

In June, he won an unfair dismissal claim against Yorkshire.

In a statement, the man denied all allegations.

When Azeem's initial allegations were brought to my attention, I was very disappointed.

"For the avoidance of doubt, I deny each and every allegation that Azeem raised with YCCC and then via the ECB suggesting that I have used racist language and bullied Azeem," said the man.

Tom Harrison, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, told the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee in November that English cricket was close to an emergency due to its failure to address racism.

Rafiq's story was described in the report as "typical of an endemic problem across the whole of cricket".

The governing body of English cricket said in June that charges had been brought against a number of individuals.

16 staff have left Yorkshire since Rafiq's accusations became public.

He wouldn't acknowledge the outcome of the hearing if he attended, despite the fact that the cases would be heard by a committee.

The head coach of Yorkshire said that he wouldn't have his life defined by "unsubstantiated allegations" and described the actions of the England and Wales Cricket Board as a "witch hunt".

He said that the ECB were looking to do that regardless. As it looks to avoid compensation for the staff it unfairly dismissed, YCCC will certainly applaud that.

When the relationship between the club, certain members of the media and Azeem is close, I don't want to engage in a process that is tainting.

He doesn't intend to spend his limited savings to pay his legal team to represent him at the hearing.

On Tuesday, former England captain Michael Vaughan - who was also charged by theECB - took a break from his work.

He denied making a racist comment to the players.

It has been two years since Rafiq went public about his experiences, but he hopes that no young player will ever go through such pain again.

The European Central Bank declined to comment on the statement.

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