Essex Cricket Club chair resigns over racism allegations
The England and Wales Cricket Board have said they will investigate the incident
The executive chairman of Essex Cricket club, John Faragher has resigned over allegations that he used racist language at a board meeting in 2017.
In a statement, the club said that his resignation was accepted unanimously by the board following discussions last night. Mr Faragher, however, denies the incident in question.
The England and Wales Cricket Board have announced that they will open an investigation into the incident. A spokesperson for the ECB says, "There is absolutely no place for racism or any form of discrimination in our game. The ECB is taking this allegation extremely seriously".
Today's resignation follows high-profile exits at Yorkshire Cricket Club, who former off-spinner Azeem Rafiq accused of being institutionally racist.
The newly-appointed Chief Executive of Essex Cricket, John Stephenson said, "This is a proud Club with a zero-tolerance policy towards racism and any form of discrimination and I will not hesitate to uphold those principles and drive out any form of discrimination that is uncovered."
"“I was made aware of this single allegation on Thursday having joined the Club four weeks ago. The Board met last night Thursday during which John Faragher’s resignation was unanimously accepted by the Board", he added.
The club have also announced they will look into their internal processes to find out why the allegation was not fully and independently investigated at the time. Mr Stephenson said, "This is an important first step, but the Club must now act further. Our internal reporting mechanisms will be reviewed to ensure that matters such as this are dealt with appropriately and immediately."
"We are committed to working with the England & Wales Cricket Board to eradicate discrimination from the game", he added.