Director of cricket, coach Gale among 16 people to leave Yorkshire amid racism scandal

Director of cricket Martyn Moxon, coach Andrew Gale and the other members of the coaching staff are among the 16 people to leave Yorkshire amid the racism scandal.

Gale has been slapped with suspension as a part of an investigation which is about him sending out a tweet back in 2010. 

"Significant change is required at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and we are committed to taking whatever action is necessary to regain trust," said Lord Patel, the club's new chair.

"The decisions announced today were difficult to make, but are in the best interests of the club."

"Without making important changes to how we are run, we cannot move on from the past to become a culture which is progressive and inclusive."

Earlier, Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq had revealed that he had been subjected to racism during his time at the club. 

"From early on there was a lot of 'You lot sit over there near the toilets'. The word 'Paki' was used constantly, no one ever stamped it out. All I wanted to do was play cricket,” Rafiq said. 

The cricketer further revealed the name of Gary Ballance and went on to say that the latter used a racial slur. 

"(Ballance) used a racial slur in 2017 and the pre-season tour. I want to address Gary's statement. There was a narrative there that we were the best of team mates.”

"When he came to the club from Derby I saw in him what I saw in myself, as an outsider. A lot of players called Gary things that were completely out of order, but it was such a norm that no one said anything."

Since Rafiq's revelations, several former cricketers including David Llyod and Micheal Vaughan have come out and apologised for the environment created in England County cricket. Current mainstays of the England team like Eoin Morgan and Adil Rashid have also given statements in support of removing the hostile culture against non-white players.