BBC drop Michael Vaughan from Ashes coverage after Azeem Rafiq allegation

Nor will he be involved in their "wider coverage of the sport at the moment"

Michael Vaughan will not be part of the BBC's coverage of The Ashes this winter, the broadcaster have confirmed. The decision to drop the former England captain from their cricket coverage comes after former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq alleged that Vaughan had made a racist comment towards him and three other Asian players during their time at the club together. Rafiq claimed Vaughan said there were "too many of you lot, we need to do something about it." Vaughan has strongly denied the allegation. Adil Rashid, meanwhile, has corroborated Rafiq's claim.

"While he is involved in a significant story in cricket, for editorial reasons we do not believe that it would be appropriate for Michael Vaughan to have a role in our Ashes team or wider coverage of the sport at the moment," said a BBC statement.

"We require our contributors to talk about relevant topics and his involvement in the Yorkshire story represents a conflict of interest."

The Ashes begins at 12 midnight on Wednesday 8th December, with the first of five Test matches taking place at the Gabba in Brisbane.

In a statement made earlier in November, Vaughan said: "I categorically deny saying the words attributed to me by Azeem Rafiq and want to re-state this publicly because the 'you lot' comment simply never happened.

"It is extremely upsetting that this completely false accusation has been made against me by a former team-mate, apparently supported by two other players.

"I have been in contact with the six other players from that team and not one of them has any recollection of the remark being made."

Rafiq recently spoke to a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee, detailing his experiences of racism during his cricket career.

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