Graham Gooch claims racism is a “societal issue” and fears for other sports too

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Graham Gooch has shared his thoughts on how racism can be tackled in both cricket and wider society. The ex-cricketer is also looking forward to the upcoming Ashes series in Australia

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Graham Gooch has said racism is a “societal issue” rather than just a cricket issue.

Azeem Rafiq ’s claims of racial abuse during his time at Yorkshire has rocked English cricket in recent weeks.

Since then, several players from other county teams have been brave enough to talk about their own harrowing experiences.

Following allegations at Essex cricket club, the side’s chairman John Faragher stepped down from his role after he was alleged to have used racist language during a board meeting in 2017.

Since Rafiq spoke out about his experiences, Yorkshire County Cricket Club have announced over 36 people have already contacted their whistleblower hotline.

Following its opening a fortnight ago the chair of the commission Cindy Butts has revealed the investigation looking into racism and other forms of discrimination in cricket has received over 2000 responses, as people across the country have come forward to share their discriminative experiences within the game.

Yorkshire have been banned from hosting international matches and lost sponsors as a result of Rafiq’s damaging claims.

During an interview with FreeSuperTips , Gooch, 68, shared his thoughts on what can be done to tackle racism and discrimination within the sport.

“They’ve released a policy statement which will go to each county and local cricket club around the country,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s completely a cricket issue, it’s a society issue and I don’t think it’ll be a surprise if these stories come to the surface in other sports as well.

“I think we need to put our house in order, there needs to be inclusion in selection policies and coaches that run teams.

“But the key is education, everyone has to be educated.”

Like many England fans, the former batsmen is looking forward to the Ashes starting next month.

The Barmy Army travel down under looking to regain the prestigious urn and win a series in Oz for the first time since 2011.

Asked what the keys are to a successful series for England, Gooch explained: “You’ve got to have a go forward attitude, you can’t sit back to see what might happen as the game goes on and see if you’re still in it going into the latter stages.

“You don’t take a backwards step that’s for sure because Australia will come hard at you with the ball and verbally. They need to take it to Australia in every single session.”

The Ashes will begin in Brisbane on December 8 and will be show on BT Sport.