"a player ran up behind him and poured beer"
Following the shocking details of the harassment Azeem Rafiq suffered whilst playing for Yorkshire, a video from 2012 has surfaced, showing a teammate drenching him in beer.
Footage of the incident at Chelmsford surfaced after Rafiq detailed the full horror of his “inhuman” treatment at the club.
The clip shows Rafiq being interviewed after a promotion-clinching performance against Essex.
He is seen nervously looking off-camera before asking if the interviewer can move.
Just moments later, former England player Adam Lyth runs up and pours a can of lager over Rafiq’s head, defying his religious beliefs.
Joe Root and Steven Patterson also spray beer at each other next to Rafiq while part of a five-man post-match photo.
Yorkshire had celebrated reaching the County Championship first division.
Rafiq had just bowled Yorkshire to a 239-run win with a second innings five-for.
He scored 53 and an unbeaten 75 with the bat, also taking eight wickets.
The video was filmed by James Buttler, who worked for Yorkshire at the time and later helped Rafiq expose racism at the club.
Buttler said: “I had recorded interviews with jubilant players and rolled them into a package, which is still on YouTube.
“The players were in high spirits and a feature of the chats on camera was a player coming up behind the interviewee and pouring beer over their heads.
“When I interviewed Azeem he told me he wanted to avoid that, but a player ran up behind him and poured beer over his head.
“I included that in the final cut and didn’t think about it again. I’ve since apologised to Azeem for my part in that.
“It never registered in my head at the time that he was a Muslim and therefore that was completely wrong. I’m not proud of that.
“Getting caught up in the moment is no excuse. Neither is it for the players concerned.
“Nobody has ever questioned that video but I know Azeem remembers it and that is the point of all of this.
“A lot of that video stems from an inner desire to fit in.”
Azeem Rafiq has spoken out against the racist abuse and harassment he suffered whilst at the club.
He provided extensive details in front of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee on November 16, 2021.
Rafiq recalled his harrowing first experience of alcohol when he was just 15.
He said:
“I got pinned down at my local cricket club and had red wine poured down my throat, literally down my throat.”
“The player played for Yorkshire and Hampshire. I (then) didn’t touch alcohol until about 2012 and around that time I felt I had to do that to fit in.
“I wasn’t perfect, there are things I did which I felt I had to do to achieve my dreams. I deeply regret that but it has nothing to do with racism.
“When I spoke I should have been listened to. The game as a whole has a problem, with listening to the victim.
“There is no ‘yeah, but’ with racism; there is no ‘two sides’ to racism.”
Watch the Footage from 2012
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