Essex chairman John Faragher steps down after allegedly using racist language in 2017

John Faragher has stepped down as the Essex chairman with immediate effect, the county announced on Friday, November 12. He was said to have taken the step after being alleged of using racist language during a board meeting back in 2017.

The club said that it will try and find the reasons as to why an investigation on Faragher regarding the allegations wasn’t carried out in 2017 itself. Essex also said that it will work with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in its fight against racism.

In a statement, John Stephenson, the county’s new chief executive, put forth the details of the entire development.

“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,” Stephenson said, cricket.com reported.

There is no place for discrimination at Essex, says new chief executive

Faragher took over as the chairman back in 2016 and dismissed the charges of allegations against him. Stephenson said that Essex won’t be tolerating any kind of discriminatory acts at the club.

“There is no place for discrimination of any kind at Essex County Cricket Club. This is a proud club with a zero-tolerance policy towards racism and any form of discrimination and, as Essex Cricket’s new chief executive officer, I will not hesitate to uphold those principles and drive out any form of discrimination that is uncovered,” he stated.

“We are committed to working with the England & Wales Cricket Board to eradicate discrimination from the game. 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,” Stephenson added.

Faragher’s decision comes at a stage when Yorkshire, another English county, is going through tumultuous times over ‘institutional racism’. The ECB, earlier, suspended Yorkshire from hosting any international and major cricket matches.

The board was unhappy with the way the club handled Azeem Rafiq’s case surrounding racism at the county. ECB also suspended left-handed batter Gary Ballance for using racist remarks while speaking to Rafiq in the past.