Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan has stood down from a BBC show after being accused of racism.
The Ashes-winning batsman was named in a report investigating alleged racist comments against Yorkshire spin bowler Azeem Rafiq.
Vaughan strenuously denies the accusation.
However, he has been dropped by the broadcaster from the BBC 5 live programme Tuffers and Vaughan Show.
The BBC said: “The BBC takes any allegations of racism extremely seriously.
“The allegation against Michael Vaughan pre-dates his time working for the BBC, we were not part of the investigation conducted by Yorkshire County Cricket Club and we have had no access to the subsequent report.
“However, we were made aware of a single allegation which Michael strongly denies and we have been monitoring the situation closely.
“We have made the editorial decision that Michael won’t appear as a presenter on 5 live’s Tuffers and Vaughan Show on Monday.
“The show focuses on topical matters and given his personal involvement, we need to ensure we maintain the impartiality of the programme.”
Vaughan has denied the claims he made a racist remark ahead of a County Championship game in 2009.
He told The Daily Telegraph:
“In December 2020 I was asked to speak to the independent panel formed by Yorkshire [county cricket club] to investigate Rafiq’s claims.
“The night before I was due to give evidence, out of the blue, I was hit with the news that Rafiq was alleging that in 2009 before a Yorkshire match against Nottinghamshire, I had said to Rafiq and two other Asian players as we walked on to the field together that there are ‘too many of you lot, we need to do something about it’.
“This hit me very hard.
“It was like being struck over the head with a brick.
“I have been involved in cricket for 30 years and never once been accused of any remotely similar incident or disciplinary offence as a player or commentator.
“I completely and categorically deny that I ever said those words.”
