Independent experts appointed to review racism in Scottish cricket

Independent experts will be appointed to carry out a full a review of racism in Scottish cricket, the national agency for sport has announced.

Majid Haq last week called for a racism inquiry in Scottish cricket

Sportscotland has pledged to “rebuild trust” after announcing that it is taking “immediate steps” to appoint a panel to carry out the review and publishing its findings within seven days.

Cricket Scotland, the sport’s governing body, has welcomed the move and said it is “committed to engaging fully in the review process and to acting on the recommendations which come out of it”.

The development follows calls made last week by Scotland spinner Majid Haq for a racism inquiry in Scottish cricket.

Scotland's record wicket-taker revealed that he and former team-mate Qasim Sheikh had suffered abuse in their careers.

Parvase Majeed, an administrator with the Western District Cricket Union, also cited abuse while umpiring and said the sport in Scotland has a "subconscious" institutional racism issue.

Sportscotland chief executive Stewart Harris said: “There can be no place for racism or discrimination of any kind in sport and it is vital that all complaints of this nature are robustly investigated.

“That must always be the starting point when we are talking about racism and racial inequalities.

“It is clear that steps must be taken to address the problem of racism within cricket in Scotland.

“We must listen to the very real concerns that have and will continue to be raised as part of this wholly independent process. But more than that, we must also act on these and start to rebuild trust.

“This will not be easy and it will take time. However, as the national agency for sport we will do what is required to effect positive change wherever it is needed in Scottish cricket.”

Cricket Scotland president Sue Strachan, said: “We have reached out to sportscotland for their help and support to investigate any evidence of racism in cricket in Scotland.

“We are grateful to sportscotland for commissioning this wide-ranging independent review of racism within the sport that we love.

“We want to ensure that going forward there is no place for racism within cricket in Scotland.”

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