Scottish cricket found to be institutionally racist – media
An independent review should throw up evidence of institutional racism in cricket in Scotland, according to the BBC.
SportScotland commissioned an investigation last year following allegations of racism and discrimination made by Scotland's all-time wicket-taker Majid Haq.
Haq played for his country more than 200 times, yet never again after he was sent home from the World Cup in 2015.
"As an ethnic minority cricketer, you need to perform twice as well as a white counterpart to get the same opportunities," he stressed to BBC Scotland in November 2021.
After Haq's complaints, the review was then carried out by Plan4sport, who are equality and diversity specialists, with a number of allegations then passed on to Scottish police.
In April, an interim report revealed how over 200 people had given evidence.
While local governing body Cricket Scotland has yet to lay eyes on the final report and was also unwilling to speculate on its findings, it has already offered an apology to anyone that has suffered racism across the sport.
"Cricket should be a welcoming place for everyone and not somewhere that racism or any form of discrimination takes place," said a spokesperson from the body. "The Cricket Scotland Board is truly sorry to everyone who has experienced racism in cricket in Scotland.
"We would like to sincerely thank everyone who has been involved in contributing to the review, however the board is not in a position to comment on the independent review's report as we will not see it until it is published publicly on Monday," the spokesperson concluded, while vowing that Cricket Scotland would implement any changes or recommendations made in the review.
The BBC understands that SportScotland is extremely concerned by the findings of the review and will entertain all options including a total withdrawal of its funding to Cricket Scotland.
Between 2019 and 2020 it provided over £500,000 to the organization.
The potential scandal comes after ex-Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq told British members of parliament that English cricket is "institutionally racist".
In response to this, Yorkshire's ground Headingley was temporarily banned from hosting international matches and the England and Wales Cricket board created a 12-point plan aimed at dealing with racism in the English game.
