Cricketer 'victimised' for speaking out on racism, report says

Majid Haq was sent home from the 2015 Cricket World Cup for posting a social media message about racism

A top cricketer who blew the whistle on racism in the sport was victimised for speaking out, according to an independent report.

The original complaint by Majid Haq led to the governance of Cricket Scotland being branded institutionally racist in a review which was published in 2022.

The sport's governing body then asked for further investigations to be carried out into racism allegations, one of which suggested that Mr Haq had been victimised.

Cricket Scotland said this report was just one of a number of legal opinions it had received, and refuted any claims that it was not addressing the issue of racism.

It also said it was implementing more than 200 recommendations for improvement.

Mr Haq says he has faced a backlash, including direct racism and hundreds of abusive messages on social media, since he went public.

He said there had been "too many words and not enough actions" after he and former Scotland teammate Qasim Sheikh spoke out about their experiences of racism in the game.

Majid Haq won 209 caps for Scotland but never played for the national side again after making his complaint

The original review into his allegations was completed in 2022. It found evidence of institutional racism in Scottish cricket and highlighted 448 examples.

These were whittled down to 43 individual allegations of racism against 27 people that could be investigated further - including 13 claims from Mr Haq that spanned his club and international career.

Cricket Scotland said five cases went through a disciplinary process, which concluded last year that they did not meet the threshold for sanctions against any individuals.

In the wake of the 2022 report, Cricket Scotland hired two law firms and a race equality charity to independently investigate the racism allegations made by former players and others in the game.

BBC Scotland understands they provided two separate reports which offered different opinions about Mr Haq's case.

They cover the period when Mr Haq was sent home from the 2015 Cricket World Cup after he posted a tweet which said "Always tougher when in a minority #race #colour" after being dropped for a game.

'Dismissed out of hand'

The report by the investigators who took a broader look at the complaints and potential discrimination has been seen by BBC Scotland.

It says Mr Haq's tweet was a "wholly improper way of raising the issue" - but that rather than investigating the real reason why it was sent, Cricket Scotland saw Mr Haq "as the problem".

It says his allegations were dismissed and not thoroughly investigated.

The authors say: "It appears that the very notion that there was any issue of racial discrimination in cricket was not only dismissed out of hand, but Majid was victimised for having raised it."

That report also suggests "members of the cricketing community have blamed Majid for raising the issues of race in Scottish cricket" and suggests that his later career as umpire was "substantially undermined" as a result of him speaking out. A club official was convicted in 2023 for racially abusing him.

The second thematic report is understood to offer a different opinion.

Former Scotland cricketer Qasim Sheikh has also spoken out

A request from Mr Haq to see the reports was rejected by Cricket Scotland on the basis that they were prepared for internal use only.

Mr Haq said it felt like nobody had been held to account in the years since he spoke out.

"It seems like everything is being brushed under the carpet," he said.

"The trust has been lost. I can't believe you have to work this hard to get justice and for the authorities just to do the right thing.

"We're still not any further forward sorting things out - deep down the feeling is we've been let down."

Another former Scotland cricketer, Qasim Sheikh, has previously said he was told "you should count yourself lucky to be here" when he complained about racism in the game.

Mr Haq and Mr Sheikh have received thousands of racist and abusive communications on social media since speaking out.

An analysis from the Running Out Racism charity suggests a single individual has sent nearly 3,000 messages to them.

Last year, Hamza Tahir, who was capped 49 times for Scotland, claimed he was the victim of racial discrimination and launched an unfair dismissal case after his contract was not renewed.

Majid Haq (left) and Qasim Sheikh (right) at a news conference with their lawyer Aamer Anwar in 2022

Graham Campbell, an SNP councillor in Glasgow and spokesman for the Running Out Racism charity which has been representing many of the complainants, said:

"They've brought in anti-racism experts and those experts have concluded, yes, there's institutional racism and that should lead to a sea change in behaviour of cricket in Scotland.

"But that's not been shown or demonstrated to us. In fact what we've experienced is a battening down and an attempt to sweep things under the carpet.

"The evidence in this is so overwhelming it should lead to some heads rolling and the fact it hasn't is a disgrace."

Aamer Anwar, a solicitor acting for Mr Haq and other complainants, said his clients believe the Cricket Scotland board should resign and the organisation put back under the control of Scottish government body SportScotland.

He said: "Cricket Scotland is incapable of dealing with the poison of racism, confronting the truth or its 'backward' culture. There is a limit to how much more 'gaslighting' Majid and other victims can take.

"Cricket Scotland is not fit for purpose and have responded with cowardly and shameful victim blaming statement."

Last year a separate independent review found that women involved in Scottish cricket face a toxic environment and a high degree of prejudice.

Similar race and sexism issues have been found in English and Welsh cricket.

'Not a declaration of fact'

Cricket Scotland is in the process of implementing hundreds of recommendations from both the racism and sexism reviews.

The sporting body is also rolling out a new equality and diversity plan for the sport.

Cricket Scotland says it "refutes any claims" it is not taking an anti-racist stance or failing to address the issues which have been raised.

It added: "We understand a small number of individuals continue to feel publicly aggrieved by the outcomes of the process.

"It is deeply disappointing that an investigative process which relied on the trust of individuals involved and a confidential report that followed is being utilised to further personal agendas.

"The report is an opinion that was constructed around this matter, and not a declaration of fact.

"Other opinions as well as detailed legal analysis were provided for the Cricket Scotland board to consider how it would act.

"Cricket Scotland has a duty of care to everyone in the Scottish cricketing community, and not just a select few individuals."