World enews: Azeem Rafiq and Andrew Gale among five reprimanded for social media posts

Azeem Rafiq and Andrew Gale are among five individuals who have accepted breaching rules with historic social media posts found to constitute “racist and discriminatory conduct” by the Cricket Discipline Commission.

The CDC has published adjudicator Chris Tickle’s rulings on charges laid by the England and Wales Cricket Board, judging Rafiq, Gale, England batter Danni Wyatt, Evelyn Jones and Jack Brooks to have contravened directive 3.3 of the ECB code.

All of the individuals admitted culpability, with the CDC adjudicator issuing a formal reprimand in each case.

Rafiq and Gale both admitted using offensive terms in unrelated posts that were reported in the aftermath of the former’s accusations of institutional racism at Yorkshire, which sent a shockwave through the game last year.

Wyatt and Jones both appeared in an Instagram post that featured “fancy dress and blackface” as well as inappropriate captions, while veteran Somerset seamer Brooks used the term ‘Negro’ in a pair of tweets involving his friend Tymal Mills.

Rafiq issued an unreserved apology following the announcement of the disciplinary action.

He tweeted: “This summer, I unequivocally accepted a charge from the ECB regarding my antisemitic social media post from 2011. You will hear no complaint from me about the CDC’s decision today.

“It is deserved and I fully accept this reprimand. I want to repeat my apology to the Jewish community. I remain ashamed and embarrassed. I hope I have demonstrated in the past 10-11 months that I am trying to educate myself about the horrors and prejudice the Jewish community has historically – and continues – to face.

“I will keep trying and I thank the Jewish community for the forgiveness and kindness that has been shown to me so far.”