Just not cricket: Does the grassroots game in Sheffield have a race problem?

Good afternoon — and welcome to Thursday’s Tribune.

In January this year, a Sheffield Wednesday fan made a monkey chant gesture towards an opposition player. Captured on video, Edward Rabjohn, aged 21, was vilified by his fellow fans and found himself banned from all football matches for five years. As well as being a Sheffield Wednesday fan, Rabjohn plays cricket for Coal Aston in the Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League, where insiders have expressed concerns about some of his language — as well as the broader culture of local cricket. He has been punished by the courts for his behaviour at Sheffield Wednesday. But what does that way his case has been treated by the cricket authorities in Yorkshire say about how seriously they are taking the issue of racism? Dan Hayes reports.

To me, today’s piece feels like a story only The Tribune would or even could cover. It’s complex, multifaceted and, as with so many issues, there are no easy answers. Unlike many other titles which chase easy headlines in the search for thousands of clicks, we explore stories in a way that help people understand what is really going on. If you want nuanced, thoughtful reporting on issues which matter in Sheffield, become a member of The Tribune.

Your Tribune briefing

⚽ Dates have been released for the first Steel City Derbies in more than five years. The Blades and the Owls are back in the same division for the first time since the 18-19 season, with the first game taking place at Bramall Lane on 9 November, and the return fixture taking place at Hillsborough on 15 March. However, anyone hoping for an entertaining game of football might be disappointed. Three of the most recent derbies have ended in 0-0 draws. 

💷 Personal independence payments (PIP) are paid to people with disabilities or long term health problems to help them with the costs caused by their conditions — and both Labour and the Conservatives have promised big changes to the system if they win the election. In this excellent BBC report, PIP recipients and their carers in Sheffield talk about how worried they are that it will be cut. “If that lifeline is cut off, it's going to be devastating," says one.

🗺️ Work on the first draft of a new map of Sheffield neighbourhoods has been completed. Simon Duffy and Tom French have been working with around 500 people all over the city to come up with what they hope will become a definitive list of the city’s 147 neighbourhoods. But as well as being an interesting cartographic exercise, they think the new map could also be used as a “jumping-off point to start tackling some of the city’s most urgent problems”.

Things to do

🍔 Our recent piece about Little Sheffield showed how the area is rapidly changing, and now it has its own monthly street food market. From arancini to beef bulgogi, Steam Kitchen at the Steamworks promises an array of delicious food from different vendors every month. As well as food and drink, there will be great tunes from a selection of live musicians and DJs. The market is open on Friday (5pm-11pm), Saturday (12pm-11pm) and Sunday (12pm-8pm).

🎉 Saturday sees the launch of the Walkley Festival, a 10-day long celebration of the area and its creative talent. Taking place between the library and St Mary’s Church (10am-4pm), South Road will feature a makers’ market, street food, drinks, live music and entertainment. The following day there will be an open gardens event, a yard sale and open artists’ studios, while the festival will come to a close on Sunday, 7 July with a festival finale at Ruskin Park.

🥾 On Sunday, join an urban walk around the leafy streets and beautiful parks of Nether Edge, Brincliffe and Banner Cross led by artist, outdoor expedition leader and forest school teacher Robin Widdowson and local historian Anders Hanson. On the walk you will explore some of Sheffield's most beautiful and fascinating suburbs, and discover more about their history. The 7km walk will begin at 10am at Craft & Dough in Kelham Island and costs £8.30.

Just not cricket: Does the grassroots game in Sheffield have a race problem?

“When I heard it was Eddie, I was simultaneously surprised and also not surprised at all.”

On Monday, 20 May this year, Sheffield man Edward Rabjohn, was convicted of racially abusing Coventry City footballer Kasey Palmer during a game at Hillsborough in January. In a YouTube video of the incident, Rabjohn is seen jumping out of his seat before making a monkey gesture towards Palmer, who is black. After the incident, Rabjohn fled the stadium. 

Sheffield Magistrates’ Court heard that the 21-year-old had drunk six pints before the game. He reportedly admitted to friends later that he had “messed up”. In a statement delivered to the court, Kasey Palmer said the abuse had left him "shocked, disgusted and sickened". Rabjohn won’t be able to attend any Wednesday or England games for five years. He was also sentenced to a two-year community order and 200 hours of unpaid work.

As well as being a Sheffield Wednesday fan, Edward Rabjohn plays cricket for Coal Aston Cricket Club, a club based near Dronfield which has several teams who play in the Yorkshire leagues. One teammate who had played with him for several years (who didn’t want to be named) tells us that, while they were surprised to see Rabjohn’s name all over the internet, his behaviour didn’t come as a surprise. 

The teammate describes Rabjohn as a “surface level racist”. While they had never heard him say any “outright slurs”, they said he would be “disproportionately disparaging or critical” of predominantly Asian sides in a way that made him and others feel uncomfortable. “There was a noticeable increase in irritation and anger, and increased mockery, when we were playing against people from Asian backgrounds,” he says. Another remembers Rabjohn making unpleasant comments about immigrants — which, while not exactly unusual in society, made others question his attitudes towards people of colour.

Racism in sport is of course nothing new. Football terraces in the 1970s and 1980s were rife with racial abuse hurled at black players. Cricket crowds are usually more genteel, but the sport has its own problems, particularly in Yorkshire. After he’d retired from playing, the former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq said that he had experienced racism throughout his professional career from fellow players. The allegations led to widespread changes at Yorkshire County Cricket Club including the resignation of its chairman and three other board members. YCCC were also fined £400,000 and docked 52 points, although three quarters of the financial penalty was suspended for two years. In 2021, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) wrote a new anti-discrimination policy, which also covers the grassroots game.

While Rabjohn has been banned from attending football matches for five years, he is free to continue playing in the Yorkshire Cricket Southern Premier League (YCSPL) every week. After Rabjohn was convicted, his club did speak with the YCSPL about possibly banning him from cricket for a period of time, but The Tribune has been told by one source with knowledge of the matter that the league’s view was “strongly against” banning him from playing cricket as well. Instead, he was “withdrawn from selection” for a period of four weeks (which is now over) and told to take an ECB course in anti-discrimination.

“You don’t want the sport to just completely cast people out,” says the teammate, “but just being made to do a Zoom call isn’t really any punishment. One of my main fears with Eddie being allowed to remain at the club is his potential to influence younger players. I recall a huddle of them guffawing at his racist remarks some years ago as we played an Asian side.” 

The decision over how to respond to Rabjohn’s conviction is a tightrope walk. Would banning the player from cricket as well as football for a long period actually help? Should the cricket clubs, leagues and governing bodies be responsible for things that happen at a football ground? On the other hand, following the Azeem Rafiq scandal, can a sport really be seen to be turning a blind eye to a convicted racist in its midst?