Former Yorkshire head coach and captain Andrew Gale has reportedly been charged by the England and Wales Cricket Board over a historic anti-Semitic tweet.
Gale was sacked by Yorkshire in December and is one of seven individuals who have been charged by the ECB following an investigation into Azeem Rafiq's allegations of racism.
However, Gale was initially suspended by Yorkshire after a historic tweet emerged where he used an anti-Semitic slur and the Telegraph are reporting that the 38-year-old has now had an additional charge filed against him by the ECB, and that Gale refused to attend his own disciplinary hearing.
The now-deleted tweet was sent in 2010, with Gale said to have used an anti-semetic slur in conversation with Paul Dews, the former head of media at Leeds United. Gale told Jewish News in November that he was "completely unaware" the term was a racial slur and said he would not have used it had he "been aware of its offensive meaning".
"This post is part of a conversational thread between Paul Dews and myself," Gale said. "Paul worked for Leeds United Football Club at the time and I am an avid Huddersfield Town fan.
"The reference is to a chant that was prevalent at the time in relation to Leeds fans. Within a few minutes of the post, Paul called me and explained the meaning of the word and that it was offensive to Jews.
"I was completely unaware of this meaning and removed the post immediately. You must have been sent a screenshot of the post that someone took at the time and waited 11 years to release.
"I would never have used the word had I been aware of its offensive meaning and I have never used it since." Gale broke his silence on the charges in June, accusing the ECB of a "witch-hunt", labelling the process "tainted" and claiming that they were looking for "scapegoats".
In a lengthy statement, Gale categorically denied Rafiq's allegations and called him "an embittered former colleague". He said: "I will always be unhappy with how my career ended but I refuse to have my life defined by unsubstantiated allegations by an embittered former colleague and by a YCCC/ECB witch hunt."
