England’s cricket governing body has brought charges against “several individuals” in relation to allegations of racism in Yorkshire.
The defendant, who has not been named, could face a ban or fine by the England and Wales Cricket Council.
Yorkshire itself was also accused of violating anti-racism rules.
Details of the abuse first emerged in September 2020 when former player Azeem Rafiq said the discrimination made him feel suicidal.
“For matters of this nature, it is our practice not to identify individuals charged at this stage,” the ECB said.
Yorkshire said “the allegations relate to allegations between 2004 and 2021”.
In a statement, the County added: “The club will need the cooperation of the incumbents during this time to fully review and respond to the issues raised.”
Since Rafiq’s allegations became public, 16 members of staff have left Yorkshire in a broad overhaul of its senior management.
The ECB said it had carried out a “thorough and complex” investigation to establish the basis for the charges against both the county and the individuals involved.
It said the charges arising from an alleged breach of the directive involved “conduct that is improper or is likely to be prejudicial to the interests of cricket or which could cause the ECB, the game of cricket or any player to what cricket goes wrong” and anti-discrimination rules.
The regulator expects hearings to take place in September or October, and the outcome of each case will be announced once a decision is made.
“It is standard practice for the disciplinary panel of the cricket disciplinary committee to fully disclose the decisions and reasons in writing after the hearing,” the ECB added.
“I welcome today’s announcement by the ECB and hope we can move quickly to the hearing,” Rafiq said.
“This is an exhausting but unfortunately necessary process. It has been two long years since I made my experiences public, but I hope this means that not a single young player has to go through it. such pain and alienation.
“My preference is that this hearing is open to the public, but I hope that at least we’re close to a point where my family and I will have a sense of closure.”
BBC Sport understands that Rafiq himself is likely to be charged at a later date for his historic Jewish posts on social media.
Rafiq apologized and said he was “extremely embarrassed” for using language in Facebook messages in 2011, which emerged after he appeared before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sports selection committee.
How do we get here?
Rafiq gave an interview to ESPN Cricinfo in September 2020 alleging “institutional racism” in Yorkshire led him to almost take his own life.
Yorkshire launched “a formal investigation” in response and a year later an independent panel upheld seven of Rafiq’s 43 allegations.
However, the panel’s report was not made public and no players, employees or executives have faced disciplinary action as a result of its findings.
The results drew widespread criticism and in November 2021 the ECB suspended Yorkshire from hosting international matches at Headingley “until it has been clearly demonstrated that it can meet the standards expected”.
Club chairman Roger Hutton resigned, as did chief executive Mark Arthur.
When approached by BBC Sport, the ECB declined to name any individuals charged.
Former Yorkshire and England captain Michael Vaughan, who worked as a pundit for BBC Sport and others, revealed he has been accused of making racist comments to Rafiq and other players, but has consistently denied the claims.
Vaughan told the BBC he never made racist comments while in the county. He admitted to regretting some of the tweets he had sent in the past.
In late November, Rafiq detailed the racist abuse he endured to a committee of MPs, claiming captain Gary Ballance and pitcher Jack Brooks used Racist nicknames for teammates.
Ballance admits to using racist language, added that he “deeply regrets” doing so.
Rafiq also addressed the attitudes of Tim Bresnan, Andrew Gale and Matthew Hoggard towards him at the club.
Bresnan has denied “regularly making racist comments”, said it was “totally incorrect.”
The ECB did not name those charged.
Rafiq’s testimony was supported by others.
Former Pakistani seafarer Rana Naved-ul-Hasan said he encountered the same prejudice in his two competitions with the county while former Yorkshire academy players Irfan Amjad and Tabassum Bhatti also shared their experiences of racism.
British pitcher Adil Rashid says he is like Rana Naved and Rafiq, heard Vaughan make racist comments.
In December, head coach Gale and director of cricket Martyn Moxon out of 16 left the club.
Gale wins lawsuit over unfair dismissal — along with second team coach Ian Dews, bowling coach Rich Pyrah, academy captain Richard Damms and strength and conditioning coaches Ian Fisher and Peter Sim.
ECB announced a wide-ranging review of racism in sport and appointed an Islamic inclusion advisory body to help with their reform on Tuesday.
Headingley returned to the international fixed list in March after members voted to pass reforms to the county’s leadership structure. It will hold its third and final test against New Zealand next week.
