Scottish cricket found to be ‘institutionally racist’ by independent review | Cricket News

The findings of an independent investigation published on Monday states it has uncovered 448 examples of institutional racism within the Scottish game; the review was conducted after allegations made by Scotland’s all-time leading wicket-taker Majid Haq

A damning review of Scottish cricket has found that its governing body failed on almost all tests of institutional racism.

Sky News revealed on Saturday that the independent review found the sport in Scotland to be institutionally racist. Independent investigators have now published the details of their findings.

They found 448 indicators of institutional racism.

Of 31 ‘tests’ used to measure the problem, Cricket Scotland – the game’s governing body – failed on 29 and only partially met the required standard on the remaining two.

The report authors were told of a range of examples of racism experienced by participants across all areas of cricket, which led to referrals being made to Police Scotland as hate crimes, as well as Cricket Scotland.

Sixty-eight individual concerns have been referred for further investigation. These include 31 allegations of racism against 15 different people, 2 clubs and one regional association. These allegations include racial abuse, the use of inappropriate language, favouritism to young, white children from public schools and a lack of transparent selection process for non-white players. In some cases, multiple concerns have been raised against the same individual.

Investigators said contributors had “clearly witnessed or experienced racism, discrimination and persistent micro-aggressions based on race during their role as a coach, umpire or player.”

Timeline

24 November 2021 – Former players tell Sky Sports News about their experiences with Cricket Scotland, calling them ‘institutionally racist’ and ask for an independent investigation

Last November Scotland’s all-time leading wicket taker Majid Haq and former player Qasim Sheikh told Sky Sports News they were treated differently due to colour of their skin, with Haq alleging Cricket Scotland was ‘institutionally racist’ and both called for an independent investigation.

8 December 2021 – sportscotland announce they will appoint independent investigators to carry out a review into Cricket Scotland

Following those allegations, funding body and Scotland’s national agency for sport – sportscotland – announced they would appoint independent investigators to carry out a review into Scottish cricket and the allegations made. That announcement in December was welcomed by Cricket Scotland.

21 December 2021 – Cricket Scotland confirm NDA’s to be relaxed

Later that month, Cricket Scotland revealed non-disclosure agreements were to be relaxed, meaning Majid Haq – who signed a NDA after being sent home from the 2015 Cricket World Cup – was able to speak about his experiences of alleged racism.

January 2022 – Plan4Sport begin review into racism within Scottish cricket

Equality and diversity experts Plan4Sport were then appointed to conduct the review which began in January with a “a confidential safe space” promised for those affected.

18 February 2022 – Cricket Scotland admit racism is an issue within the game

The following month Cricket Scotland accepted there was an issue with racism in the game in Scotland and apologised to those who had suffered, whilst calling on others to take part in the review.

28 April 2022 – Interim report on review into racism in Scottish cricket published

In April the interim findings of the review were published, revealing more than 200 people had engaged directly with the process. Concerns around racism, inequality and discrimination were identified while disclosures in relation to racism were passed to independent lawyers or Police Scotland.

10 June 2022 – Cricket Scotland pause search for new CEO

Following an extensive recruitment process, Cricket Scotland decided to delay plans to appoint a permanent Chief Executive Officer until the review was published in full to ensure the person taking over was best placed to lead change and act on the findings. Gordon Arthur was appointed on an interim basis the following month.

24 July 2022 – Cricket Scotland board resign

And yesterday, one day after we revealed this report will conclude Cricket Scotland is institutionally racist, the six remaining members of Cricket Scotland’s board wrote to Gordon Arthur, resigning from their roles.

25 July 2022 – ‘Changing The Boundaries’ report released

The full report is published, detailing 448 examples of demonstrated institutional racism.