![](https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/03/03/17/a66f53e974b3c4a75a4d5c0a817db049Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjc3OTQ5MjY2-2.71213584.jpg?width=1200&auto=webp)
Azeem Rafiq was accused of using “the race card” on the day Michael Vaughan defended himself against a charge that he made a racist remark to his former Yorkshire team-mate.
Matthew Wood, Rafiq’s former personal development manager at the Professional Cricketers’ Association, appeared as a witness in defence of Vaughan.
In his witness statement Wood, himself an ex-Yorkshire player, said: “In my dealings with Azeem, I was aware of two occasions in which he (directly or indirectly) acknowledged that he would be prepared to use the ‘race card’.
“By that, I understood Azeem to mean that he would make, or allude to, an allegation of racism in bad faith in order to gain an advantage.”