Michael Vaughan ‘sorry’ for hurt Azeem Rafiq has gone through

Michael Vaughan said he is “sorry” for the pain Azeem Rafiq has experienced amid his former Yorkshire team-mate’s allegations of racism.

Rafiq told MPs earlier this month of the “inhuman” treatment he suffered during his time at Yorkshire, with Vaughan among a number of figures implicated in the case.

Vaughan has denied claims he said “too many of you lot, we need to do something about it” to Rafiq and three other Asian players before a Yorkshire match in 2009, while he has been left out of the BBC team for the upcoming Ashes tour of Australia due to a potential “conflict of interest”.

Azeem Rafiq gives evidence about his experiences of racism (House of Commons/PA)

In an interview with BBC Breakfast shown on Saturday morning, the former England captain said: “I’m sorry for the hurt (Rafiq’s) gone through.

“Time I don’t think can ever be a healer in the situation that he’s gone through.

“But hopefully time can be a way of us making sure that Yorkshire County Cricket Club never goes through this situation again and never puts themselves in a position of denial that they treated a player so badly.”