Yorkshire County Cricket Club agrees compensation following ‘unfair’ sackings
Yorkshire has agreed to a compensation package with former coach Andrew Gale and ex-bowling coach Richard Pyrah after the pair were sacked last year.
They were among 16 members of staff sacked in December in the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal.
Gale, 38, was captain and coach during Rafiq’s time at the club. The compensation comes after Gale and Pyrah won a claim for unfair dismissal in June.
Former all-rounder Pyrah, 39, played for Yorkshire between 2004 and 2015 before becoming part of the coaching team.
A statement from the club explains: “On the 3 December 2021 the Yorkshire County Cricket Club Limited took the decision to dismiss its coaching and medical staff.
“The club has acknowledged that its dismissals of that group of employees was procedurally unfair.
“After meaningful dialogue between the club and the legal advisers acting on behalf of Andrew Gale and Richard Pyrah, the parties can confirm that acceptable terms of settlement have been reached.
“The financial terms of the settlements are confidential and no further public statement will be made about the terms.”
Rafiq first went public with his experiences in September 2020 and said the “institutional racism” he encountered while at Yorkshire left him wanting to taking his own life.
He said the club had become “toxic” after Gary Ballance assumed the captaincy, shortly after Gale replaced previous coach Jason Gillespie.
In June, after winning his unfair dismissal claim, Gale said he would not engage with the England and Wales Cricket Board’s disciplinary process – for which hearings are expected to start in the coming months. He also denied all allegations made by Rafiq.
Gale was initially suspended – as part of an investigation into a tweet he sent in 2010 – before he was sacked on 3 December.
