Michael Vaughan dropped from BBC show after racism accusations

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has been dropped from BBC 5 Live’s 'The Tuffers and Vaughan show on Monday (November 1) amid racism allegations. The cricketer-turned-expert was accused of making racist comments to Azeem Rafiq. If reports are to be believed, the former England captain told Rafiq and two other players from Asian origin, “too many of you lot, we need to do something about it.”

Former Pakistan bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan also confirmed to ESPN Cricinfo that he heard Vaughan saying such insensitive comments. Racism has been a hot topic in the England Cricket team ever since Ollie Robinson’s historic Tweets went viral in June. The latest player to come under the scanner was England and Yorkshire player Garry Balance. Now, Vaughan has also been accused of bringing racism into the sport.

“We have made the editorial decision that Michael won’t appear as a presenter on 5 live’s Tuffer’s and Vaughan show on Monday. The show focuses on topical discussion around current cricketing matters and given his personal involvement, we need to ensure we maintain the impartiality of the programme. We remain in discussion with Michael and his team,” concluded the statement," read a statement from BBC.

The former England captain though denied making such racist remarks and shed light on his side of the story. ‘In December 2020 I was asked to speak to the independent panel formed by Yorkshire to investigate Rafiq’s claims. ‘The night before I was due to give evidence, out of the blue, I was hit with the news that Rafiq was alleging that in 2009 before a Yorkshire match against Nottinghamshire, I had said to Rafiq and two other Asian players as we walked on to the field together that there are ‘too many of you lot, we need to do something about it, Vaughan wrote in his column for Telegraph.

Vaughan further opined that in his career spanning 30 years as a cricketer and broadcaster, he has never been involved in any related incident.

‘This hit me very hard. It was like being struck over the head with a brick. I have been involved in cricket for 30 years and have never once been accused of any remotely similar incident or disciplinary offence as a player or commentator.

‘I completely and categorically deny that I ever said those words.'