Police end investigation into Azeem Rafiq’s claim team-mate forced wine down his throat

Police have shelved an investigation into whether Azeem Rafiq had red wine forcibly poured down his throat by a former Yorkshire player while he was still a child, citing “evidential difficulties”.

Rafiq’s accusation he had been pinned down in a vehicle as a young Muslim and made to drink alcohol by someone he said also featured for Hampshire was among the most shocking moments of his tearful testimony in front of the Digital, Culture, Media & Sport select committee in November.

Telegraph Sport has learnt the matter became the subject of a months-long investigation by South Yorkshire Police, during which the alleged perpetrator and a witness were both interviewed.

Confirming its probe had now been shelved, the force said: “South Yorkshire Police investigated allegations made by the complainant and two people were interviewed as part of the inquiry. The investigation was filed due to evidential difficulties.”

A spokesman for Rafiq – who blew the whistle on the Yorkshire racism scandal and will be the chief witness in the upcoming Cricket Discipline Commission hearing into the saga – said: “Several months ago, the police interviewed Azeem about an assault suffered when he was 15. The police offered Azeem the opportunity to take this further, but he did not want to turn this into a criminal matter and declined their offer.”

Rafiq told MPs the red wine incident occurred when he was playing for Barnsley Cricket Club – now called Barnsley Woolley Miners CC – one of the most famous amateur clubs in Yorkshire, which counts Sir Geoffrey Boycott, Dickie Bird, Darren Gough and Sir Michael Parkinson among its alumni.

The club said: “BWMCC welcomes the thorough investigation carried out by the police and would like to view this matter as now closed.

“We as a club have always prided ourselves on being a friendly, diverse and safe place to play cricket at all ages and levels.”

The club had already said following Rafiq’s testimony that they stood ready to investigate themselves, but that he had provided no information about the alleged incident since they approached him “within 90 minutes” of first being notified about it the previous year.

They added: “We did initiate a search of our welfare records and contacted our former safeguarding officer and there is no record of any incident being reported at that or any other time. We repeat, if Azeem wants to provide those details, we will, of course, initiate an investigation.”

A spokesman for Rafiq declined to comment at the time, with Telegraph Sport told the latter’s failure to comply was due to him co-operating with Yorkshire’s inquiry into his claims of racism there and he planned to provide further information in due course.

Rafiq told MPs last year: “15 years old, I got it literally down my throat and the player played for Yorkshire, played for Hampshire and yeah, it was quite an experience.”

He also chronicled the alleged incident in a witness statement published by the committee, which read: “Drinking after games and socialising with team-mates is a big part of the club culture in Yorkshire. I had already had a bad experience at 16: while at Barnsley Cricket Club I had been held down and, despite people knowing I was Muslim, had wine forcefully poured down my throat. It was traumatic and upsetting because it was against my religion and culture. At YCCC, it was never forced, but there was an entrenched drinking culture which had the effect of isolating Muslim Asian players: if you didn’t drink, you didn’t fit in.

“In some instances, I was ridiculed for not drinking. I also observed that other players who were drinking and socialising with others were getting on better with everyone and progressing with their cricket. I felt pressured to conform to this, so I took up drinking in an effort to fit in around 2012. And initially, it helped – I made my breakthrough that same year, I felt like I was fitting in better and felt less like an outsider. But I never felt happy with myself, or within myself, after consuming alcohol as I knew it was against my religion and all the values that my parents had instilled in me. When I drank, I became someone who was not true to myself and I felt ashamed. But if I wasn’t drinking with the others, I didn’t fit in. Either way, it felt like I was in no man’s land.”

Meanwhile, Rafiq has denied having called a black player ‘Kevin’ after it emerged the investigation panel appointed by Yorkshire in the case found he had done so.

A spokesman for the former spinner – who himself accused former team-mate Gary Ballance of using the name as a racist insult – said: “This allegation was not put to Azeem during the process and he does not know who it is the panel was referring to. It is a term that Azeem has never used, but one that Azeem exposed as being widely used across the game. We are aware that at least one player has admitted to using this term.

“The way this was handled is symptomatic of how the panel and Yorkshire County Cricket Club interfered with what was supposed to be an independent report. For example, the panel removed the investigation into institutional racism from the remit of this process for reasons that have never been explained. Nevertheless, the report itself reached the only rational conclusion – that Azeem was subjected to racism and bullying.”