Man charged with racially abusing Majid Haq
Incident took place during club match in which former Scotland spinner was umpiring
ESPNcricinfo staff
14-Aug-2023
Majid Haq has spoken out about his experiences of racism • Andy Buchanan/AFP
A man has been arrested and charged in connection with racial abuse after Majid Haq, the former Scotland spinner, described being called a "cheating P***" while umpiring in a club match in Greenock.
Haq's international career ended in 2015 after he made allegations about discrimination and his testimony was one of the catalysts for last year's "Changing the Boundaries" report into racism in Scottish cricket.
"I appreciate the word is already out about the incident at Greenock on 12 August," Haq said in a statement. "There is already far too much misinformation out on social media, particularly regarding racism issues in cricket, and therefore I felt it important to put this out.
"After making a decision as standing umpire, I was called a f*** cheating p***. When I challenged the person, they persisted it was a factual term and continued to confront me. It was incredibly upsetting, not just for me but also for the numerous players of Pakistani descent in earshot.
"The individual has been charged by Police Scotland, and I therefore intend to say no more about the incident itself."
Haq said that he had tried to rebuild his relationship with the game by going into umpiring but added that "12 months on from the [Changing the Boundaries] report, I have been subject to scrutiny and abuse beyond anything that could be considered reasonable".
"I really, really hope that this latest incident might be the wake up call our sport needs to confront the ugly truth. Our sport has a problem, and it's systemic. Our sport needs to change, to make it inclusive and safe for others that might come after those who have spoken up."
Disgusted & horrified with Saturday's racist abuse directed at me while doing my job as an umpire. Thanks again to everyone who supported me on Saturday at the game which was easily my lowest point being on a Cricket field! #enoughisenough #notoracismhttps://t.co/qtwUZeeB1p
— Majid Haq (@MajidHaq) August 14, 2023
Cricket Scotland and sportScotland - the national sports body that placed CS under special measures following the report - have both faced questions about the handling of the racism inquiry, most notably by former CS chairs Tony Brian and Anjan Luthra. There are currently a number of cases referred from the "Changing the Boundaries" report that are under investigation still.
At the end of July Cricket Scotland announced that eight referrals had been concluded - in addition to four earlier - with the board taking several learnings from them but which required no further action. Thirty-two referrals remain under investigation with updates expected only as and when they are concluded.
In response to the latest incident involving Haq, Cricket Scotland released a statement saying that it "condemns in the strongest possible terms the behaviour that took place at Greenock on Saturday".
"Racism has no place in sport or society. It is a scar on cricket, and Cricket Scotland is wholly committed, along with our partners, to eradicating racist behaviour and attitudes from our game.
"As this incident is now part of a live criminal case, Cricket Scotland is unable to comment further. However, the governing body can confirm it is working in conjunction with the CSMOA [Cricket Scotland Match Officials Association], WDCU [Western District Cricket Union] and Greenock Cricket Club to ensure internal disciplinary proceedings proceed swiftly and appropriately, following due process."