In an independent examination, the Scotland Cricket Board was determined to be “institutionally racist,” with additional probe results set to be revealed on July 25. The board was investigated following complaints made by former Scottish spinner Majid Haq in November of last year.
Majid, Scotland’s leading wicket-taker, and former teammate Qasim Sheikh both claimed they were victims of racist abuse during their playing careers because of their skin color. Following the duo’s revelations, SportScotland commissioned Plan4Sport to conduct an independent examination of the situation.
The organizations solicited information from hundreds of people in order to perform their inquiry, and the results were disastrous for Scotland Cricket.
Aamer Anwar, who represents both former Scottish cricketers in court, did not mince words in the aftermath of the study, describing Cricket Scotland as “dysfunctional and institutionally racist.”
“Cricket Scotland is dysfunctional and institutionally racist – if that is confirmed by this review, it will be devastating for Cricket Scotland. There are those within the organization who should be ashamed of their treatment of Majid and Qasim and so many other cricketers who gave their lives to cricket but saw their careers taken away from them,” Anwar said.
The lawyer went on to say that if the incident had occurred in any other field, the culprits would be out of work and in prison. In cricket, however, instead of an indictment, they are promoted and given more prestige. Racism has been endemic in Cricket Scotland for many years, according to him, and has been passed down through generations of cricketers.
