Yorkshire prepare clear out of up to SIXTEEN members of staff - including coach Andrew Gale and cricket director Martyn Moxon - as county club wields the axe in the wake of Azeem Rafiq affair
- Yorkshire are preparing to sack up to 16 members of staff including Andrew Gale
- The cricket club are set for a clear out in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq affair
- Coach Gale was suspended last month for an offensive historical tweet
- Yorkshire are still finalising severance packages but want to begin a rebuild
Yorkshire are preparing to sack up to 16 members of staff, including head coach Andrew Gale and director of cricket Martyn Moxon, as a result of their roles in the club’s mishandling of the Azeem Rafiq affair.
Sportsmail has learned that the majority of the club’s coaching and medical teams, as well as some back-office staff, are set to go in a mass clearout as Yorkshire seek a fresh start after being widely accused of fostering a culture of institutional racism at Headingley — a term accepted by former chairman Roger Hutton.
New chairman Lord Patel is leading the shake-up, which began with the resignation of chief executive Mark Arthur last month.
Gale was suspended last month after the emergence of an historical anti-Semitic tweet and Moxon is on sick leave due to stress.
But while they will both depart, former England batsman Gary Ballance is set to survive — for now — despite having admitted calling Rafiq a ‘P**i’ on numerous occasions.
No players are expected to leave in the club’s purge of staff.
Yorkshire are preparing to sack up to 16 members of staff as they begin to rebuild the club
Coach Andrew Gale was suspended last month for an historic offensive tweet and will depart
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Yorkshire are still finalising some of the severance packages, but are hopeful the process will be concluded soon to enable them to begin rebuilding.
The cull of coaching and medical personnel will leave a huge vacuum at the club which will need to be filled promptly if Yorkshire are to be competitive next season.
In addition to removing individuals who failed to act on Rafiq’s repeated complaints of suffering racial abuse, Yorkshire hope that taking decisive action will help build bridges with the ECB, who have stripped them of international cricket next summer.
As well as wanting to regain one of England’s Tests against New Zealand and a one-day international v South Africa, the club are eager to avoid further punishment from the national governing body — they could relegate them to the second division of the County Championship when the 2022 fixtures are published next month.
Alongside losing international matches, the club have been severely hit by the vast majority of their sponsors cutting ties with them, costing Yorkshire millions of pounds.
Yorkshire declined to comment on Thursday night.
The county cricket club are wielding the axe in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism affair
