Michael Vaughan has been left out of the BBC commentary team for the upcoming Ashes series in Australia to avoid a "conflict of interest" amid an ongoing racism row.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
English cricket has been rocked by revelations of racism from Pakistan-born former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
These have included an allegation that former England captain Vaughan told the now 30-year-old Rafiq and other Yorkshire players of Asian origin that there were "too many of you lot, we need to do something about it" during a county match in 2009.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Vaughan, an Ashes-winning skipper in 2005, has "categorically denied" the allegation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Following Rafiq's comments, which have sparked a tidal wave of accusations of racism within English cricket, the 47-year-old Vaughan was stood down from his BBC radio show earlier this month.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
And a spokesperson for the broadcaster said Wednesday: "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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We require our contributors to talk about relevant topics and his involvement in the Yorkshire story represents a conflict of interest."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Vaughan still has a contract to commentate on the Ashes series for Fox Sports, one of the hosts Australian television broadcasters, and the former top-order batsman remains a columnist with Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In a statement issued 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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"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," he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Last week saw Rafiq, who later admitted to posting an anti-Semitic message on Twitter as a teenager, give vivid testimony to a parliamentary committee during a hearing where he said his career had been cut short by racism.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tom Harrison, was widely criticised for his response to Rafiq's revelations while appearing at the same hearing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Following a meeting of the national governing body's constituent members on Friday, Harrison promised "tangible action" to combat racism, but said the details would not be published until this week.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The fallout for Yorkshire, one of English cricket's oldest and most prestigious counties, over the scandal has been devastating, with sponsors making a mass exodus and the club suspended from hosting lucrative international matches.<\/p>\r\n\r\n